Konsten att handla hållbart : En studie om greenwashing och konsumenters förtroende till certifiering och miljömärkning av livsmedel

Sammanfattning

Consumer demand for green products in the market is increasing. This has led to green marketing becoming more common, however, the line between green marketing and greenwashing is not entirely clear. This study aims to investigate what consumers' confidence in organic certification and eco-labeling of food looks like, and how greenwashing can affect this. The method used is both quantitative and qualitative survey where data has been collected from 47 respondents who have an interest in the environment, consumption or sustainable lifestyle. The answers have been analyzed on the basis of a thematic content analysis for the open answers and descriptive statistical analysis of closed answers. The theories Theory of Planned Behavior and Action value gap theory have been applied to investigate what consumer behavior can look like, and to explain what influences individual’s behavior from a psychosocial perspective. The results show that confidence in certification is higher than in environmental claims and labeling, which indicates that consumers demand control of products that are marketed as environmentally sound choices. The results also show that it is perceived as difficult to make good choices as it places demands on the consumer to be critical and question environmental statements in marketing.