Consumers' purchase behavior of Cradle to Cradle Certified® products—The role of trust and supply chain transparency

Abstract

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 important 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 theoretical implications for green product innovation and marketing including eco‐product labeling based on transparent GSCs.