Greenwash impact on bottled water consumers’ green purchase behavior through green brand image and loyalty
The category of bottled water is one of the most important categories in consumer goods with fast growing and importance for the daily consumption in household. But this growth has been attracting criticism too, with many brands being accused of greenwashing. This kind of greenwashing undermines consumer confidence, diminishes brand authority and discourages eco-friendly buying. With increasing consumption of bottled water and increasing awareness in Indonesia, these types of misleading green claims hold special relevance. There are persistent gaps in understanding, affordability, and access among consumers who express a desire to purchase sustainable products. As such, the present study has proposed examining how greenwashing affects the green purchasing behavior through green brand image and green brand loyalty. The Theory of Planned Behavior serves as a conceptual map, in which green brand image functions as an attitudinal appraisal of environmental responsibility and green brand loyalty reflects the long-term intention to repurchase. The online questionnaire is employed to obtain data, which were offered via social media, 96 responses met the research criterion and were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling. The results show that greenwash reduces green purchase behavior and green brand image, while green brand image and green brand loyalty increase green purchase behavior. However, both constructs do not mediate the effect of greenwash.