Nineteenth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

Green customers play a critical role in maintaining environmentally sustainable development over time. Many people declare to have positive attitudes towards green purchase but their buying behavior only partially reflects this claim. Advertising is a significant factor influencing consumers’ behavior; however, the phenomenon of greenwashing can increase skepticism toward green advertising, which can obstacle the green market. On the other side, consumers’ environmental knowledge drives green consumption. Moreover, consumers’ purchase intentions are influenced by their confidence in labels of green claim. This study investigates if trust in green claims can mediate the relationships of skepticism toward green advertising and environmental knowledge with intention to buy green products. We administered to 410 Italian consumers (63% female; aged 18-78 years) an online survey including scales on green advertising skepticism, perceived environmental knowledge, trust in labels that certify that a product is green, and intention to buy green products. Our mediation model explained 29% of the intention variability. Trust fully mediated the negative relationship between skepticism and intention (direct effect p = .20; indirect effect p = .005), while it partially mediated the positive relationship between knowledge and intention (direct effects p = .01; indirect effects p < .001). Results showed that trust in green claims may reduce the negative influence of green advertising skepticism and partly explain the positive relationship between environmental knowledge and intention to buy green products. Findings may provide green market operators with helpful information to encourage consumers buying green products.