Greenwashing & Credibility

1. Vivijan Steenhuis &Wim J.L. Elving
(U of A’dam, NL)

2.  Labels are an attractive instrument
◦ It supports the goal of eating more healthier
◦ The free choice remains
◦ It can safe time for the consumer (Grunert and
Wills, 2006)
 But labels are loosing their power
(Van Tulder and Van derZwart, 2003)
 RQ: Which role does scepticism has on a
food label and does it influence buying
intention?

5.  H1: Knowledge of the label leads to more
scepticism towards the label
 H2: The more the individual appreciates the
label, the lower the amount of scepticism the
individual experiences towards the label
 H3: The level of scepticism towards the label
influences the buying intention of products with
this label
 H4: The label I make conscious choices will be
evaluated more negatively when individuals find
out about the real origin of the label

6.  Online Questionnaire
◦ 140 respondents (M age 31 years; 46% male)
 Variables:
◦ Knowledge of the specific label
◦ Choosingproductswiththat label
◦ Amount of scepticism
◦ Evaluationafterrevealing the origin of the label

7.  Nearly all respondents are familiar with the 'I
make conscious choices' label (93.3%)
 Results of the knowledge questions (green is
the correct answer)

8.  Only 26.9% of the respondents gave the correct
answer on the question where the label derived from
 37.5% thought that the label comes from the Voedsel
en WarenAutoriteit, which is the formal controlling
body for food safety in the Netherlands
 19.2% thought that the label comes from the Ministry
of Health, Welfare and Sport
 16.3% thought it came from Unilever
 A fairly large proportion of respondents (26.9 + 16.3
= 43.2%) were aware of the fact that the label comes
from the food industry itself
 56,8% of ourrespondentsdidnotknow the trueorigin of
the label

9.  H1: Knowledge of the label leads to more
scepticism towards the labelRejected
 H2: The more the individual appreciates the
label, the lower the amount of scepticism the
individual experiences towards the
labelConfirmed
 H3: The level of scepticism towards the label
influences the buying intention of products
with this labelConfirmed

10.  The level of scepticism after we revealed the
real origin of the label increased
(M = 5.43, SD = 0.81  M = 4.59, SD = 1.26)
 H4: The label I make conscious choices will
be evaluated more negatively when
individuals find out about the real origin of
the labelConfirmed
 49.1% feels deposed
 75% label is misleading

11.  The ‘I make consciouschoices’ label is
maybemisleading, knowledge of origin of
label increasesscepticism
 Organisationsshouldbeverycareful in adopting
these labels
 Use of labelstomuchseen as marketing,
whereas a true label
shouldindicatespecificadvantagesforconsume
rs