Lorincz Orsolya | University of Copenhagen (original) (raw)
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Papers by Lorincz Orsolya
Background. In a world where environmental impact plays a more important role than ever in custom... more Background. In a world where environmental impact plays a more important role than
ever in customers' purchasing practices, we can also detect a rise in green advertising that is
misleading.
Previous Research. Many studies have focused on analyzing how organizations use the
greenwashing method as a disinformation tool in their communication practices, rather than
actually changing their business model and products to be more environmentally friendly.
Previous research demonstrated that companies use up to 10 different methods of misleading
customers to believe that they are environmentally friendly. Previous research only focused on
product characteristics and not on analysing the communication style of companies.
Methodology. This paper, focused on analyzing the data and information communicated
through a fashion company’s advertisements, website and Sustainability Performance Report
through thematic content analysis.
Findings and Implications. This paper’s results confirm previous findings that the use
of ambiguous concepts is one of the key factors in misleading customers. On the other hand, this
study found that in contrast to previous studies, creating false certifications and labels is not a
main factor of misleadingness for the fashion industry. The main key factors of misinformation
in the fashion industry are the use of ambiguous and vague words, the omission of important
information, questionable leadership claims and the use of scientific terms. Other misinformation
types were found(ex: outright false claim, green imagery, etc), but they were not prevalent and/or
significant in the thematic content analysis. This paper found that misinformation in green
advertising is continuously changing and adapting to the response of consumers and proposes
four new types of misinformation: the use of Asterix, shifting the Blame to the consumer,
Comparing apples to oranges and Cherry picking information.
Future. This paper proposes further research to validate the four new types of
misinformation in the fashion industry, as well as further thematic analysis using different
fashion companies as their case study.
Background. In a world where environmental impact plays a more important role than ever in custom... more Background. In a world where environmental impact plays a more important role than
ever in customers' purchasing practices, we can also detect a rise in green advertising that is
misleading.
Previous Research. Many studies have focused on analyzing how organizations use the
greenwashing method as a disinformation tool in their communication practices, rather than
actually changing their business model and products to be more environmentally friendly.
Previous research demonstrated that companies use up to 10 different methods of misleading
customers to believe that they are environmentally friendly. Previous research only focused on
product characteristics and not on analysing the communication style of companies.
Methodology. This paper, focused on analyzing the data and information communicated
through a fashion company’s advertisements, website and Sustainability Performance Report
through thematic content analysis.
Findings and Implications. This paper’s results confirm previous findings that the use
of ambiguous concepts is one of the key factors in misleading customers. On the other hand, this
study found that in contrast to previous studies, creating false certifications and labels is not a
main factor of misleadingness for the fashion industry. The main key factors of misinformation
in the fashion industry are the use of ambiguous and vague words, the omission of important
information, questionable leadership claims and the use of scientific terms. Other misinformation
types were found(ex: outright false claim, green imagery, etc), but they were not prevalent and/or
significant in the thematic content analysis. This paper found that misinformation in green
advertising is continuously changing and adapting to the response of consumers and proposes
four new types of misinformation: the use of Asterix, shifting the Blame to the consumer,
Comparing apples to oranges and Cherry picking information.
Future. This paper proposes further research to validate the four new types of
misinformation in the fashion industry, as well as further thematic analysis using different
fashion companies as their case study.