THE IMPACT OF NON ECO-FRIENDLY PACKAGING ON GREEN BRAND EQUITY: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF GREENWASHING & ECO-LABEL CONFUSION & THE MODERATING ROLE OF BRAND TRUST & GREEN BRAND

Abstract

The research aims to determine the antecedents of green brand equity in Pakistan’s FMCG market through green branding, eco-label credibility, perceived greenwashing, and their interactive effects. The need for environmental friendliness is proposed as a moderator on the effects of green branding and brand trust toward green brand equity while examining the mediating roles of eco-label credibility and perceived greenwashing in the relationship between environmental friendliness and green brand equity. This positivist quantitative research employs a cross-sectional survey method. Primary data were collected from 409 respondents among FMCG consumers in Pakistan using a structured questionnaire comprising closed-ended questions based on five-point Likert scales ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree with statements related to different constructs under study. Data analysis involved the PLS-SEM (SmartPLS) application for assessing both measurement model validity/reliability aspects, together with testing direct/moderating/mediating paths’ significance levels within the proposed conceptual framework model structure. The results show that the need for environmental friendliness significantly increases both perceptions towards eco-label credibility as well as perceivedgreenwashing. The moderating effects of environmental friendliness on the relationship between brand trust and green brand equity, and green branding and green brand equity, are not supported. The study also finds no support for the indirect effects of environmental friendliness on green brand equity through eco-label credibility and perceived greenwashing. Therefore, Pakistani FMCG firms should focus on a consistent evidence-based green branding rather than only labels. Environmentally oriented consumers seem to be more vigilant and at the same time more skeptical; hence, firms should enhance the credibility of green claims through transparent, verifiable communication to avoid skepticism without assuming that consumers will automatically reward labels or punish perceived greenwashing. This paper adds to existing works on green branding by showing that in Pakistan’s FMCG sector, green brand equity is mainly driven by green branding itself and not so much by eco-label credibility or consumers’ perception of greenwashing. The findings exhibit the “aware-but-constrained” consumer pattern typical for emerging markets and provide context-specific evidence on why certain green cues do not convert into brand equity.