Title: Consumer perceptions of Greenwashing: Lessons learned from the fashion sector in the UAE

Abstract

This paper was published in the Asian Journal of Business Ethics on 11th January 2022 and underlined the relevance of the impact of greenwashing on the fashion sector in the United Arab Emirates. The practice of ‘greenwashing’ may be characterized as the fabrication of green claims by organizations to portray a positive image. Greenwashing has not been examined in the United Arab Emirates, and the fashion sector is considered the second-largest consumer of harmful chemicals, excessive water use, and non-compliant waste management practices behind the oil and gas sector. Using in-depth semi-structured interviews with fast fashion consumers in the UAE, an exploratory qualitative inquiry was conducted with a focus on the ‘seven sins of greenwashing’ and ‘competitive altruism’ theories and the consumer perceptions of green claims made by major apparel manufacturing and retail firms in the UAE were investigated. A conceptual framework was developed to better understand the nature of corporate altruistic behaviour and the perceived advantages of green initiatives. The exploratory qualitative inquiry used for this study provided a great opportunity for gathering detailed information on consumer perceptions of greenwashing practices in the UAE. Future research and statistical representation are needed to cross-reference the data and test the framework suggested here.