From Greenwashing to Green authenticity : Overcoming Greenwashing Strategies in Sustainable Fashion Marketing on Instagram

The purpose of this research was to explore how different elements of sustainable fashion marketing on social media contribute to creating authentic, coherent, and trustworthy posts. Specifically, the study examined the impact of green appeals (concrete vs. abstract) and benefit associations (self-oriented vs. other-oriented) on consumers' sustainable purchase intentions. Benefit associations play an essential role in this context because they shape how consumers relate to the message, either by focusing on personal gains (self-oriented) or broader environmental benefits (other-oriented). This study aimed to determine whether concrete green appeals, combined with the right benefit association, result in higher sustainable purchase intention, greater perceived authenticity, lower confusion and higher perceived trustworthiness. Additionally, the research investigated whether perceptions of authenticity, confusion, and trustworthiness mediate the relationship between green appeals and purchase intentions.