Green Marketing and Greenwashing in Poland and France, a Comparison of Consumer Reactions

Abstract

The human influence on the environment and its protection are subjects of marketing communication, and numerous regulations were issued to control the “green” messages. The popularity of such practices makes it essential to compare the reactions to green marketing and greenwashing in two European societies and to check how “green” awareness of European consumers translates into behavior. The review of literature and decisions regulating green marketing is followed by a CAWI study of the French and Polish young consumers ecological attitudes, intentions, and behaviors. ANOVA and linear regression methods were used to analyze data. The French young consumers are more pro-environmentally focused than Poles and display more robust skepticism toward sustainable claims. The Poles, more than the French, focus on the products' primary functions. Both groups show higher levels of spontaneous awareness of greenwashing than average consumers in those two countries. Our hypotheses about relationships of ecological attitudes with purchase intentions and behavior were supported. Surprisingly, there was a negative relation between French nationality and environmental behaviors. There is a regional market segment of European consumers from Generation Z who react similarly to green marketing claims and reject the greenwashing actions. They are highly environmentally aware, but the relationships between their eco-attitudes and behaviors, albeit significant, are weak. The marketers aiming their activity at the young customer segment should not expect an immediate influence of ecological attitudes on behaviors. This market segment can instead become a powerful influencing group among their societies.