• No results found

Limitations and recommendations for future research

36

Secondly, to ensure that companies become more transparent about their

environmental performance, governments should implement both punishment measures for greenwashing firms and create a multistakeholder supervision system to monitor

greenwashing (Sun and Zhang 2019). This would help lower the benefits of greenwashing and hopefully make an honest approach more attractive. Moreover, Sun and Zhang (2019) argue that governments should strengthen corporate social responsibility construction as this would increase the psychological costs of greenwashing and thereby reduce the need for government intervention in the long run.

Lastly, the media needs to report it more to ensure consumers know whether companies engage in greenwashing. Prior studies have suggested that advertisers strongly influence whether a company's greenwashing practices are covered by media (Gentzkow and Shapiro 2010; Rinallo and Basuroy 2009). Additionally, strategically launching neutral or positive brand news can crowd out the bad news. Therefore, companies may hide their corporate social irresponsibility by spreading positive brand news simultaneously (Stäbler and Fischer 2020). However, as mentioned previously, this is not risk-free, as when

greenwashing grows common, consumers are found to become skeptical of green advertising as a whole.

37

responses were anonymous, making participants less likely to edit their responses to be more desirable. Additionally, the use of anonymity and randomizing the question order are

proposed as procedural remedies to control for the common method bias (Podsakoff 2003).

Moreover, prior research by Milfont (2009) showed that giving socially desirable answers only has a low or non-existent effect on environmental attitudes.

On the other hand, the sample had a strong tendency to a younger age group as 68.4%

of the participants were under 30. Student samples do not necessarily reflect society

concerning environmental issues as green consumerism varies by age, gender, and education.

Therefore, this study gives a great indication for this part of the population but may not reflect the whole population accurately. However, this study focused on high street fashion brands which mainly target men and women aged 18 to 30 (Joung 2014). Therefore, future studies conducting comparative research could focus on a sample that is more representative of the population, as the outcome might be different.

Another important aspect of this research is that it did not look at whether consumers knew that a product might not be environmentally friendly. The sole interest was to

determine whether consumers view these advertisements in a positive light. Therefore, the assumption is made that people who did not believe in the product's environmental

friendliness would consider both the advertisement and brand more negatively. This assumption is based on research by Schmuck, Matthes & Naderer (2018), who found that consumers aware of this respond more negatively to the use of green advertising with images associated with nature or green.

Furthermore, this study focused on the clothing industry specifically. Therefore, the question is whether the results found in this study can be applied to other industries. For example, previous studies on functional and emotional appeals in advertisements for soap showed similar results (Matthes et al. 2014). The clothing industry is an industry that heavily engages in (green) advertising and greenwashing (H.-S. Kim and Hall 2015). The fashion industry emits around 10% of annual global carbon dioxide (McKinsey 2020). It is interesting to see the effects of different advertisements in this industry. However, future studies could focus on testing variations of these advertisements specific to other industries to determine whether the results would hold across industries.

Moreover, this study employed a hypothetical brand to ensure preconceived ideas about a brand did not play a role. However, as branding plays a role in consumers' purchase decisions in fashion, this may restrict the external validity of the findings.

38

Next, this study focused on four sins of greenwashing: irrelevance, false labels, fibbing, and vagueness, and did not look at other forms of greenwashing. These four sins were picked as they are most commonly employed in green advertising (Dahl 2010; Naderer, Schmuck, and Matthes 2017; Segev, Fernandes, and Hong 2016). Therefore, future studies could take this into account.

Lastly, future research designs should incorporate intended and actual purchase behavior to assess to what extent the interaction between green marketing advertisements and a consumer's attitude toward green products affects purchase behavior and the attitude toward brands.

VI Conclusion

To conclude, this thesis investigated the relationship between a person's level of environmental involvement and their response toward either green marketing or

greenwashing appeals. The growing demands of green products and companies' desires to differentiate themselves and create a profit make green advertising, and therefore,

greenwashing a crucial topic. A survey was conducted and filled out by 237 participants. The findings suggest that both the greenwashing and green marketing appeals have a positive direct effect on the attitude toward the advertisement, which indirectly affects consumers' perceptions of the brand in a positive manner. Further on, people with higher levels of environmental involvement are found to view a brand that uses green marketing appeals in their advertisements more negatively.

On the other hand, greenwashing advertisements are found to appeal to both low and highly-involved consumers. Taking this information into account, greenwashing appeals should only be used by companies who behave in a sustainable manner and preferably have a third-party certification to avoid damaging the brand's credibility. On the other hand,

governments should focus on creating a universal third-party certification and punishing companies that do try to mislead consumers by greenwashing.

As stated by TerraChoice Vice President Scot Case, "The huge danger of

greenwashing is if consumers get so skeptical that they don't believe any green claims, then we have lost a potent tool for generating environmental improvements. So, we don't want consumers to get too skeptical." Hence, more research is needed to determine how a consumer's green involvement interacts with greenwashing, as these practices can severely harm the benefits of green advertising in the fashion industry.

39 Reference list

Ahuja, Neyati. 2015. “Effect of Branding On Consumer Buying Behaviour: A Study in Relation to Fashion Industry Effect of Branding On Consumer Buying Behaviour.”

International Journal of Research in Humanities & Social Sciences 3(2).

www.raijmr.com (July 30, 2021).

Akturan, Ulun. 2018. “How Does Greenwashing Affect Green Branding Equity and Purchase Intention? An Empirical Research.” Marketing Intelligence and Planning 36(7): 809–24.

https://app.dimensions.ai/details/publication/pub.1105523178 (July 29, 2021).

ASOS. “Women’s Sustainable Clothing | Sustainable & Recycled Fashion.”

https://www.asos.com/women/the-responsible-edit/cat/?cid=28981 (July 30, 2021).

Banerjee, Subhabrata, Charles S. Gulas, and Easwar Iyer. 2013. “Shades of Green: A Multidimensional Analysis of Environmental Advertising.”

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00913367.1995.10673473 24(2): 21–31.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00913367.1995.10673473 (July 28, 2021).

Baum, Lauren M. 2012. “It’s Not Easy Being Green … Or Is It? A Content Analysis of Environmental Claims in Magazine Advertisements from the United States and United Kingdom.” http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17524032.2012.724022 6(4): 423–40.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17524032.2012.724022 (July 31, 2021).

Blach, Oliver. 2013. “H&M: Can Fast Fashion and Sustainability Ever Really Mix? | Guardian Sustainable Business | The Guardian.” The Guardian.

https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/h-and-m-fashion-sustainability-mix (July 29, 2021).

Boush, David M., and Barbara Loken. 1991. “A Process-Tracing Study of Brand Extension Evaluation.” Journal of Marketing Research 28(1): 16.

Bowman, Emma, and Sarah Mccammon. 2019. “Zara’s 2025 Sustainability Push Draws Skepticism : NPR.” NPR. https://www.npr.org/2019/07/27/745418569/can-fast-fashion-and-sustainability-be-stitched-together?t=1622999704937 (June 6, 2021).

Carlos, W. Chad, and Ben W. Lewis. 2018. “Strategic Silence: Withholding Certification Status as a Hypocrisy Avoidance Tactic.” Administrative Science Quarterly 63(1): 130–

69. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0001839217695089 (May 4, 2021).

Chan, Ricky Y K. 2001. 18 Psychology & Marketing Determinants of Chinese Consumers’

Green Purchase Behavior. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

40

Chang, Chingching. 2011. “Feeling Ambivalent about Going Green: Implications for Green Advertising Processing.” Article in Journal of Advertising.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259925055 (May 30, 2021).

Chen, Yu Shan, and Ching Hsun Chang. 2013. “Greenwash and Green Trust: The Mediation Effects of Green Consumer Confusion and Green Perceived Risk.” Journal of Business Ethics 114(3): 489–500.

Cheung, Gordon W., and Rebecca S. Lau. 2007. “Testing Mediation and Suppression Effects of Latent Variables: Bootstrapping With Structural Equation Models.”

https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428107300343 11(2): 296–325.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1094428107300343?casa_token=ma1p4zi o0U8AAAAA%3AduNgUm2b6p9M97fzAoBQK3FZE6OOesRfxbScldabMVdRlNPV MvFHybVU1afmHBPIr4OCWUxzAl3KTsY (August 7, 2021).

Clark, Hazel. 2015. “SLOW + FASHION—an Oxymoron—or a Promise for the Future …?”

https://doi.org/10.2752/175174108X346922 12(4): 427–46.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2752/175174108X346922 (August 6, 2021).

Conover, W. J., Mark E. Johnson, and Myrle M. Johnson. 1981. “A Comparative Study of Tests for Homogeneity of Variances, with Applications to the Outer Continental Shelf Bidding Data.” Technometrics 23(4): 351–61.

Dahl, Richard. 2010. “Green Washing.” Environmental Health Perspectives 118(6).

https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/ehp.118-a246 (April 19, 2021).

Davis, Nicola. 2020. “Fast Fashion Speeding toward Environmental Disaster, Report Warns | Fashion | The Guardian.” The Guardian.

https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2020/apr/07/fast-fashion-speeding-toward-environmental-disaster-report-warns (July 28, 2021).

Delmas, Magali A., and Vanessa Cuerel Burbano. 2011. “The Drivers of Greenwashing.”

California Management Review 54(1): 64–87.

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1525/cmr.2011.54.1.64 (April 19, 2021).

Dockrill, Maddie. 2020. “How Ethical Is Zara? - Good On You.” Good on you.

https://goodonyou.eco/how-ethical-is-zara/ (June 8, 2021).

Easterling, Debbie, Amy Kenworthy, and Ruth Nemzoff. 1996. “The Greening of Advertising: A Twenty-Five Year Look at Environmental Advertising.” Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice 4(1): 20–34.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10696679.1996.11501714 (May 30, 2021).

41

Ellen, Pam Scholder, Joshua Lyle Wiener, and Cathy Cobb-Walgren. 1991. “The Role of Perceived Consumer Effectiveness in Motivating Environmentally Conscious Behaviors:” https://doi.org/10.1177/074391569101000206 10(2): 102–17.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/074391569101000206 (July 31, 2021).

European Commision. 2021. “Screening of Websites.”

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_21_269 (April 19, 2021).

Global Organic Textile Standard. “About GOTS - The People and Organisation behind - GOTS.” https://global-standard.org/about-us (July 31, 2021).

Good on you. “MUD Jeans - Sustainability Rating - Good On You.” Good on you.

https://directory.goodonyou.eco/brand/mud-jeans?_gl=1*1qjystn*_ga*MTAzODk4Mzc4MS4xNjIxMzM2MjIy*_ga_TTB1J3Q9M N*MTYyODMyNjQwMC44LjEuMTYyODMyNjU2NC40NA..&_ga=2.40242794.999 112148.1628326402-1038983781.1621336222 (August 7, 2021).

Gould, Hannah. 2017. “Zara and H&M Back In-Store Recycling to Tackle Throwaway Culture | Guardian Sustainable Business | The Guardian.” The Guardian.

https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/may/26/zara-hm-step-up-instore-recycling-tackle-throwaway-culture (July 29, 2021).

Grimmer, Martin, and Timothy Bingham. 2013. “Company Environmental Performance and Consumer Purchase Intentions.” Journal of Business Research 66(10): 1945–53.

Grimmer, Martin, and Meghann Woolley. 2014. “Green Marketing Messages and

Consumers’ Purchase Intentions: Promoting Personal versus Environmental Benefits.”

Journal of Marketing Communications 20(4): 231–50.

https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rjmc20 (May 30, 2021).

Hamann, Ralph. 2004. “Corporate Social Responsibility in Mining in Southern Africa: Fair Accountability or Just Greenwash?” Development. www.sidint.org/development (July 30, 2021).

Hartmann, Patrick, and Vanessa Apaolaza-Ibáñez. 2015. “Green Advertising Revisited.”

http://dx.doi.org/10.2501/S0265048709200837 28(4).

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2501/S0265048709200837 (July 30, 2021).

Hartmann, Patrick, and Vanessa Apaolaza Ibáñez. 2006. “Green Value Added.” Marketing Intelligence & Planning 24(7): 673–80.

Hayes, Andrew F. 2017. Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis ... - Andrew F. Hayes - Google Books. 2nd ed. The Guilford Press.

42

https://books.google.nl/books?hl=en&lr=&id=8ZM6DwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&d

q=hayes+2017&ots=21AgqJZh2F&sig=Bj-gm_bmLQVyY2aTE1KvGTApl6A#v=onepage&q=hayes 2017&f=false (August 7, 2021).

Henninger, Claudia E., Panayiota J. Alevizou, and Caroline J. Oates. 2016. “What Is

Sustainable Fashion?” Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management 20(4): 400–416.

Hymann, Yvette. 2020. “How Ethical Is Uniqlo?” Good on you. https://goodonyou.eco/how-ethical-is-uniqlo/ (June 8, 2021).

Jong, Menno D. T. De, Karen M. Harkink, and Susanne Barth. 2017. “Making Green Stuff?

Effects of Corporate Greenwashing on Consumers:”

https://doi.org/10.1177/1050651917729863.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1050651917729863 (July 29, 2021).

Joung, Hyun Mee. 2014. “Fast-Fashion Consumers’ Post-Purchase Behaviours.”

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management 42(8): 688–97.

Jung, Sojin, and Byoungho Jin. 2016. “Sustainable Development of Slow Fashion Businesses: Customer Value Approach.” Sustainability (Switzerland) 8(6).

Kilbourne, William E. 1995. “Green Advertising: Salvation or Oxymoron?” Journal of Advertising 24(2): 7–20.

Kim, Hye-Shin, and Martha L. Hall. 2015. “Green Brand Strategies in the Fashion Industry:

Leveraging Connections of the Consumer, Brand, and Environmental Sustainability.”

Sustainable Fashion Supply Chain Management: From Sourcing to Retailing: 31–45.

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-12703-3_2 (July 28, 2021).

Kim, Yeonshin, and Sejung Marina Choi. 2005. “Antecedents of Green Purchase Behavior:

An Examination of Collectivism, Environmental Concern, and Pce.” ACR North American Advances NA-32.

https://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/9156/volumes/v32/NA-32 (July 31, 2021).

Kim, Youn Kyung, Judith Forney, and Elizabeth Arnold. 1997. “Environmental Messages in Fashion Advertisements: Impact on Consumer Responses.” Clothing and Textiles Research Journal 15(3): 147–54.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0887302X9701500303 (May 19, 2021).

Koh, Lian Pin et al. 2010. “Wash and Spin Cycle Threats to Tropical Biodiversity.”

http://www.forestry.sarawak.gov.my (July 28, 2021).

Kooistra, K.J., A.J Termorshuizen, and R. Pyburn. 2006. The Sustainability of Cotton : Consequences for Man and Environment. Wageningen.

43

https://library.wur.nl/WebQuery/wurpubs/345417 (August 12, 2021).

Lane, Eric. 2010. “Consumer Protection in the Eco-Mark Era: A Preliminary Survey and Assessment of Anti-Greenwashing Activity and Eco-Mark Enforcement, 9 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 742 (2010).” UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law 9(3).

https://repository.law.uic.edu/ripl/vol9/iss3/4 (July 30, 2021).

Lara Robertson. 2020. “How Ethical Is H&M? - Good On You.” Good on you.

https://goodonyou.eco/how-ethical-is-hm/ (June 6, 2021).

Levi Strauss & Co. 2021. “Levi’s® Launches ‘Buy Better, Wear Longer’ Campaign - Levi Strauss & Co : Levi Strauss & Co.” https://www.levistrauss.com/2021/04/22/levis-launches-buy-better-wear-longer-campaign/ (June 8, 2021).

Madeleine Hill. 2021. “How Can You Tell When a Fashion Brand Is Greenwashing? - Good On You.” Good on you. https://goodonyou.eco/how-can-you-tell-when-a-fashion-brand-is-greenwashing/ (July 28, 2021).

Malhotra, Naresh K, Daniel Nunan, and David F. Birks. 2017. Marketing Research: An Applied Approach,. fifth. Pearson Education Limited.

http://dspace.uniten.edu.my/jspui/handle/123456789/17759 (July 30, 2021).

Matthes, Jörg, and Anke Wonneberger. 2014. “The Skeptical Green Consumer Revisited:

Testing the Relationship between Green Consumerism and Skepticism toward Advertising.” Journal of Advertising 43(2): 115–27.

Matthes, Jörg, Anke Wonneberger, and Desirée Schmuck. 2014. “Consumers’ Green

Involvement and the Persuasive Effects of Emotional versus Functional Ads.” Journal of Business Research 67(9): 1885–93. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2013.11.054.

McKinsey. 2020. “How the Fashion Industry Can Reduce Its Carbon Footprint | McKinsey.”

https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/fashion-on-climate# (July 28, 2021).

Naderer, Brigitte, Desirée Schmuck, and Jörg Matthes. 2017. “2.3 Greenwashing:

Disinformation through Green Advertising.” Commercial Communication in the Digital Age: 105–20.

van Niekerk, Angelique, and Marthinus Conradie. 2020. “The ‘currency’ of Cultivating a Green Brand: Representation Practices for Green Branding and Green Washing in Print Magazine Advertising in South Africa.” Communitas 25: 1–31.

http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2415-05252020000100007&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en (August 7, 2021).

Noto, Misato. 2020. “H&M’s Fashion de Action Campaigns Raise Awareness about

44

Sustainability | Sustainability from Japan - Zenbird.” Zenbird.

https://zenbird.media/hms-fashion-de-action-campaigns-raise-awareness-about-sustainability/ (June 6, 2021).

Nyilasy, Gergely, Harsha Gangadharbatla, and Angela Paladino. 2014. “Perceived Greenwashing: The Interactive Effects of Green Advertising and Corporate Environmental Performance on Consumer Reactions.” Journal of Business Ethics 125(4): 693–707.

Pimonenko, Tetyana et al. 2020. “Green Brand of Companies and Greenwashing under Sustainable Development Goals.” Sustainability 2020, Vol. 12, Page 1679 12(4): 1679.

https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/4/1679/htm (July 28, 2021).

Podsakoff, Philip M.,MacKenzie. 2003. “Common Method Biases in Behavioral Research: A Critical Review of the Literature and Recommended Remedies.” Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol 88(5), : 879–90. https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/2003-08045-010 (August 7, 2021).

Polonsky, Michael Jay. 1994. “An Introduction To Green Marketing.” Electronic Green Journal 1(2). https://escholarship.org/uc/item/49n325b7 (May 30, 2021).

Schmuck, Desirée, Jörg Matthes, and Brigitte Naderer. 2018. “Misleading Consumers with Green Advertising? An Affect–Reason–Involvement Account of Greenwashing Effects in Environmental Advertising.” Journal of Advertising 47(2): 127–45.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00913367.2018.1452652 (May 4, 2021).

Schwepker, Charles H., and T. Bettina Cornwell. 1991. “An Examination of Ecologically Concerned Consumers and Their Intention to Purchase Ecologically Packaged Products.” Journal of Public Policy & Marketing 10(2): 77–101.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/074391569101000205 (May 30, 2021).

Segev, Sigal, Juliana Fernandes, and Cheng Hong. 2016. “Is Your Product Really Green? A Content Analysis to Reassess Green Advertising.” Journal of Advertising 45(1): 85–93.

https://miami.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/is-your-product-really-green-a-content-analysis-to-reassess-green (July 31, 2021).

Stäbler, Samuel, and Marc Fischer. 2020. “When Does Corporate Social Irresponsibility Become News? Evidence from More Than 1,000 Brand Transgressions Across Five Countries.” Journal of Marketing 84(3): 46–67.

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0022242920911907 (April 28, 2021).

Stone, George, James H. Barnes, and Cameron Montgomery. 1995. “Ecoscale: A Scale for the Measurement of Environmentally Responsible Consumers.” Psychology &

45 Marketing 12(7): 595–612.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/mar.4220120704 (May 30, 2021).

Sun, Ziyuan, and Weiwei Zhang. 2019. “Do Government Regulations Prevent

Greenwashing? An Evolutionary Game Analysis of Heterogeneous Enterprises.”

Journal of Cleaner Production 231: 1489–1502.

Taber, Keith S. 2018. “The Use of Cronbach’s Alpha When Developing and Reporting Research Instruments in Science Education.” Research in Science Education 48(6):

1273–96.

TerraChoice (Underwriters Laboratories). 2010. The Sins of Greenwashing Home and Family Edition. www.ulenvironment.com. (May 3, 2021).

Thaler, Richard, and Cass R. Sunstein. 2001. Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness. New York: Penguin Books.

Two sides. 2018. “New Study Shows That ‘Go Paperless – Go Green’ Claims Fall Flat - Two Sides North America.” https://twosidesna.org/US/study-shows-that-go-paperless-go-green-claims-fall-flat/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=TSNA Blog on CRA Study&utm_content=TSNA Blog on CRA

Study+CID_0019fd692870a805a3a042be285d1593&utm_source=Email marketing software&utm_term=Re (July 30, 2021).

UL. 2020. “Sins of Greenwashing.” Ul. https://www.ul.com/insights/sins-greenwashing (May 2, 2021).

Urbański, Mariusz, and Adnan ul Haque. 2020. “Are You Environmentally Conscious Enough to Differentiate between Greenwashed and Sustainable Items? A Global Consumers Perspective.” Sustainability 2020, Vol. 12, Page 1786 12(5): 1786.

https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/5/1786/htm (July 30, 2021).

46 Appendices

Appendix 1. Stimuli

Control group advertisement

Green Marketing advertisement

Greenwashing advertisement

47

The picture is by a brand named Bethnals. The editing was done with Adobe Photoshop. The brand name Towkow was made up. The heart logo came from a Calzedonia sustainability campaign. The #brandcares was inspired by Primark’s #wecare. The icons are popular greenwashing symbols.

Appendix 2. Questionnaire

*Information about study*

Dear respondent,

Thank you for taking part in this research for my master’s thesis at the University of Amsterdam.

It will take approximately 3 minutes to fill out this survey.

Please note that there are no right or wrong answers, it is important to choose the answers that fit you the best.

The data of this survey will be handled completely anonymously and confidentially, no personal information will be saved. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me by sending an email to xxx@uva.nl

Thank you in advance for participating in this study.

*One of the three stimuli in appendix 1 is shown. *

*Afterward the following questions are asked in the following order, however, the questions are randomized within each group. *

Given the ad you just saw, please rate the following statements (1-5):

The ad is good The ad is pleasant The ad is favorable The ad is convincing The ad is trustworthy

Given the same ad you saw, please rate the following statements about the brand (1-5):

The brand in the ad is attractive The brand in the ad is good The brand in the ad is positive

The brand in the ad is recommendable The brand in the ad is likeable

Please rate the following statements (1-5) I am concerned about the environment

The condition of the environment affects the quality of my life I am willing to make sacrifices to protect the environment

48 I like green products

I feel positive toward green products

Green products are good for the environment I feel proud when I buy / use green products

I make a special effort to buy more sustainable products

I would switch from my usual brands and buy environmentally friendly clothing even if I had to give up some trends to do so

I have switched products for ecological reasons

When I have a choice between two equal products, I purchase the one less harmful to the environment

There is not much that any one individual can do about the environment

One person trying to protect the environment is useless as long as other people refuse to join Most products I buy are overpriced

Most products I buy wear out too quickly (break easily)

What is your highest level of education (completed or completing) - Less than high school

- High school graduate

- Trade/technical/vocational training (Dutch: MBO) - Associate degree (Dutch: HBO)

- Bachelor’s degree (Dutch: WO) - Master’s degree

- Professional degree or higher What is your nationality?

- Dutch

- Other _______

What is your age?

___________

What is your gender?

Man Woman Other______

Prefer not to say

Appendix 3. Descriptive Statistics Descriptive Statistics of all variables

Variables Mean Std. Deviation N Cronbach’s alpha

Average attitude towards advertisement

3.65 0.74 237 0.83

Average attitude towards the brand

3.63 0.77 237 0.90

Green involvement 4.00 0.67 237 0.89