Surviving in the Era of Sustainability Marketing – The impact of green claims on consumers’ purchase intention of environmentally friendly fashion products

Abstract: Thesis Purpose: The objective of this study is to research how vocal green companies can use green claims in online marketing advertisement text with the aim to recommend ways in which they can positively impact the purchase intention of environmentally friendly fashion products. Methodology: In this quantitative study, the data is analysed through correlations, after which significant differences are captured through the Fisher Z transformation, followed by a one-way ANOVA test analysing the gender effect. Theoretical Perspective: The study is based upon main theories such as Green Claims, Purchase Intention, and the Theory the 5 I’s of Green Marketing. Empirical Data: A web-based self-completion questionnaire has been used to obtain a total of 432 responses through convenience sampling. Findings: Our findings confirm that incorporating aspects of one of the four I’s, (Intuitive, Innovative, Inviting and Informative) helps to positively affect the purchase intention of environmentally friendly fashion products; with the Innovative green claim having the highest capacity to enhance this purchase intention. The results also reveal that the impact of gender on the relationship between the different I’s and purchase intention of environmentally friendly fashion products is limited, with gender only influencing the relationship of fourth I (Informative). The findings presented also show that females only have a higher purchase intention of environmentally fashion products compared to males for the second I (Innovative). Implications: This paper was able to successfully extend the theory of the 5 I’s of Green Marketing to green claims, by researching ways in which vocal green fashion organisations can make most effective use of green claims in an online advertisement text. In order for managers of vocal green organisations to make a positive impact on the environment, by positively impacting the purchase intention of environmentally friendly products, it is advised to consider using one of the four green claims in an online advertisement that is most suitable to their brand.