Consumers' purchase behavior of Cradle to Cradle certified® products - the role of trust and supply chain transparency

Damberg, Svenja (author), Saari, Ulla A. (author), Fritz, Morgane M. C. (author), Dlugoborskyte, Vytaute (author), Božič, Katerina (author)

Consumers' trust in eco-labels is declining due to the growing number of different kinds of eco-labels that can be uncertified and related to greenwashing. This paper argues that providing more transparency regarding green supply chains (GSCs) through eco-labels (such as Cradle to Cradle Certified ® ) is critical for creating trust and convincing consumers to buy eco-products over conventional ones. Building on previous literature related to sustainable consumption behavior, green purchasing behavior, Cradle to Cradle certification and GSC management, we develop and test a conceptual model to empirically investigate the links between consumers' trust in eco-product labels and GSC perceptions in influencing green purchase behavior (GPB) in the case of eco-friendly fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs). By studying a sample of 276 German consumers and applying structural equation modeling, we find that the trust in eco-product labels and positive perceptions of GSCs are impor- tant drivers of GPB. Our research contributes by expanding the knowledge on the factors influencing the acceptance of eco-products, highlighting the importance of supply chain transparency and trust in GSCs among consumers. We discuss theoreti- cal implications for green product innovation and marketing including eco-product labeling based on transparent GSCs.

• Language: English
• Keywords: Cradle to Cradle, eco-label, green product innovation, green purchase behavior, green supply chains, sustainable consumption
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: EF - School of Economics and Business
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2024
• Number of pages: Str. 8280-8299
• Numbering: Vol. 33, iss. 8
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-170617
• UDC: 502.131.1
• ISSN on article: 0964-4733
• DOI: 10.1002/bse.3919
• COBISS.SI-ID: 204484611
• Publication date in RUL: 10.07.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Business strategy and the environment
• Shortened title: Bus. strategy environ.
• Publisher: European Research Press, John Wiley & Sons
• ISSN: 0964-4733
• COBISS.SI-ID: 512082457

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: inovacije, trajnostni razvoj, trženje, blagovne znamke, innovations, sustainable development, marketing, brands