GREENWASHING IN EMERGING ECONOMIES: HOW CONSUMERS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES RESPOND TO MISLEADING SUSTAINABILITY CLAIMS

Abstract

We reviewed recent peer-reviewed literature to explore how greenwashing manifests and how consumers in emerging economies perceive and respond to misleading sustainability claims. Using a sample of 25 reviewed articles, we developed a multi-dimensional typology of greenwashing, spanning vague advertising and executional cues, weak or self-issued ecolabels, selective disclosure, carbon offsetting, net-zero rhetoric, spatial fixes, and supply chain window dressing, and linked these tactics to consumer outcomes. Findings show that perceived greenwashing elevates scepticism and perceived risk, erodes green trust and brand attachment, lowers willingness to pay and purchase intention, and fuels negative green word-of-mouth, yet relational capital, concrete ethical cues, sectoral norms, and consumer knowledge can buffer or complicate these effects. Greenwashing in emerging markets is a systemic governance problem requiring stronger verification, label transparency, auditor accountability, and paired consumer education and verification mechanisms to shift incentives from symbolic signalling to substantive environmental action.