An experimental study on the susceptibility of purchasing managers to greenwashing

Greenwashing - the deliberate exaggeration or fabrication of environmental claims - undermines trust, disrupts transparency, and poses a significant barrier to genuine progress toward sustainability. This scenario-based experimental study examines whether purchasing managers, key stakeholders in organizational procurement, can reliably differentiate between greenwashed and certified sustainable products. Using three carefully designed purchasing scenarios - laptops, safety gloves, and copy paper - responses were collected from 465 purchasing managers across the EU, a region notable for its regulatory emphasis on eco-certifications. The findings reveal no statistically significant differences in willingness to pay (WTP) for products with greenwashed claims versus those backed by stringent certifications, with average WTP values varying only slightly between groups. These findings highlight a critical vulnerability to greenwashing, even among experienced professionals, raising concerns about the credibility of sustainability claims in influencing procurement decisions. The study underscores the need for systemic reforms, including the standardization of certification systems and enhanced decision-making tools, to mitigate greenwashing’s pervasive impact and foster authentic corporate sustainability.