Greenwashing as an Example of Ecological Marketing Misleading Practices

Abstract

Nowadays, world-wide recognized corporations seek methods and instruments which enable them an effective flow of information concerning their actions as far as environment and sustainable development issues are concerned. It seems that marketing tools work well within this field. That is how ecological marketing (EM) originated with its advantages and drawbacks including greenwashing. The paper is committed to the analysis of this phenomenon, used to describe the unjustified appropriation of environmental virtue by a company to create a pro-environmental image. The article also presents common mechanisms of EM, shows how greenwashing works in practice and shares research results concerning purchasing habits (focusing on environmental issues) in China, USA and Great Britain