Inoculation & Greenwashing: Defending Against Misleading Sustainability Messaging
James Bingaman, Gilbert Kipkoech, John P. Crowley
Abstract
This study sought to investigate whether an inoculation message could influence attitudes and purchase intentions toward sustainability apparel and footwear that some have claimed use ambiguous and misleading environmental claims. Participants (N = 156) were assigned to either an experimental condition in which they received an inoculation message or a control condition where they received a non-threat-inducing message. The results of the experiment indicated that participants in the inoculation condition were more likely than those in the control condition to both resist attitude change and buy sustainable products. These findings provide initial support for the effectiveness of inoculation in “vaccinating” against greenwashing information.