Impact of Green-washing Perception on Green Product Trust, Green Brand Risk and Purchase Intention

This study aims to empirically examine how Korean consumers perceive greenwashing practices of global SPA brands and how such perceptions influence purchase intention. While prior studies have provided limited empirical evidence on the relationship between greenwashing and purchase intention, research analyzing consumers’ multidimensional perceptions of greenwashing remains scarce. To address this gap, this study conceptualizes greenwashing as a multidimensional construct and investigates its effects on green product trust, green brand risk, and purchase intention. Data were collected through a survey of 155 university students in their twenties, who represent the core consumer segment of SPA brands and are considered highly sensitive to environmental and sustainability issues. The results indicate that consumers’ perception of greenwashing practices— particularly greenhushing, greenshifting, and greenlighting—significantly lowers trust in green products, with greenhushing exerting the strongest negative effect. Finally, higher perceived green brand risk leads to a significant decrease in purchase intention for green products.