Can green fatigue hamper sustainability communication efforts?

Abstract

Because of the tremendous increase in the amount of information about sustainability and environmental issues in general, there is risk of information overload. This specialized kind of information overload, green fatigue, could harm efforts to communicate about sustainability issues. The public is also somewhat cynical about much of the green marketing that is pervasive. A survey of 213 students was conducted at Florida Institute of Technology to analyze their perceptions of the amount of information about green issues and the potential impact on conservation behaviors. While most students felt that there is currently not too much conservation information, they acknowledged that people are often frustrated when they feel overloaded with information. Organizations must be diligent about incorporating sustainability messages throughout their structure and be transparent about their environmental efforts.