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This study presents a cross-cultural analysis of environmental information on packaging. We used judges and packages from four countries (Australia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and we asked judges to determine their own environmental information. Results suggest that whilst there is some consistency in judges' views, there are also important information differences across countries. Judges were found to infer environmental information from material that has not been considered to be environmental in nature. Our results may have important connotations for advertising, where environmental information might be offered as part of the array of product benefits being presented to consumers.

An efficient corporate social responsibility (CSR) framework in many economies has been linked with human capital development, social and financial inclusion, environmental protection and better stakeholder management. This article examines the level of efficiency of the CSR framework in Nigeria; it underscores the developmental potentials of CSR practices within the Nigerian business community. However, a prevailing trend of haphazard and sometimes dodgy CSR practices by free riding rogue companies mars such potentials. Underpinning these dodgy practices has been a CSR ‘business case’ argument coupled with dysfunctional business (corporate) law assumptions among other causative factors. The article appraises the implications of these causative factors and towards minimising the haphazard practices, proposes corporate law reforms through which the Nigerian CSR framework may become more effective.

Purpose – This chapter develops the case for a global Greenscape. It introduces the green global marketplace (Greenscape) to better understand the global green market.Design/methodology/approach – The chapter introduces current green market practices and adopts case study methodology to present three distinct green cases related to renewable energy, process technology and wastewater recycling and their international market activities. The chapter offers discussion on findings and incorporates the novel technique of discourse analysis using Leximancer 3.0.Findings – The case shows how the Greendex Report (2012) positions Brazil, India, China and Russia at the top of the markets for green product penetration. The developed nations of USA, France and Canada make up the bottom rankings. The chapter finds essential elements for creating the global Greenscape and marketing of green technologies.Research limitations/implications (if applicable) – Empirical research testing success pathways and destination opportunities is desirable.Practical implications (if applicable) – The ‘success and failure criteria’ identify how planning, patent and partnerships are essential for successful entry. Specific market research on G(reen) markets, market information, marketing functions for market entry and market diffusion for renewable products and process technologies such as supply chain elements, and how these interrelate with achieving sustainability goals is essential for successful entry.Originality/value of chapter – The chapter offers a novel and original approach to international green market penetration and offers analysis related to the new world BRIC countries that have been little explored.

The clean beauty phenomenon is gaining momentum and beauty brands are getting creative with on-pack sustainability claims. With the increasing focus on sustainability from both brands and consumers, sustainability communication has the potential to raise the profile of sustainable production and consumption. Further attention is needed on the creative approach behind on-pack sustainability marketing communications as companies no longer focus on single eco labels but instead use a bundle of claims to advertise their commitment to sustainability which finds consumers confused and brands open to accusations of greenwashing. This chapter explores on-pack sustainability communications in the beauty industry through the lenses of creative marketing communications which need to be both original and appropriate. This study contributes to the longstanding debate on the role of sustainability claims in marketing communications and addresses the role of on-pack sustainability claims design and creativity.

We examine the role of communication in stimulating consumer attitudes and buying behavior regarding corporate social responsibility (CSR).

We review the literature on communicating CSR to consumers through (1) messages constructed and verified by the company (such as product claims and corporate advertising), (2) messages constructed by the company, but verified by a third party (such as disclosures), and (3) messages constructed and verified by a third party (such as independent consumer guides and publicity).

Communication messages constructed and verified by the company can be quite effective in persuading consumers, if they are communicated in a credible way. The latter can, for example, be done by including specific behaviors and/or outcomes in the message. Messages constructed by the firm, but verified by a third party tend to have a higher credibility, but risk containing either too little information or too much. Finally, messages constructed and verified by a third party can be seen as highly credible, but can sometimes be seen as merely PR. In addition, both messages focusing on deontological responsibility (the firm’s motives and behavior), and messages focusing on consequentialist responsibility (the outcomes of the firm’s behavior) seem important to consumers.

The results offer suggestions on how to communicate about CSR to consumers.

The chapter provides the first comprehensive overview of the literature on communication about CSR to consumers.

Purpose: The study focusses on the systematic review of the greenwashing literature to present the research gaps to researchers for future studies.

Design/methodology/approach: The systematic review has been used to analyse past studies on ‘greenwashing’. The 325 research articles of the previous 10 years (2014–2023) were downloaded from the Scopus-indexed database using the keyword ‘greenwashing’.

The findings: There is a need for a study on greenwashing in developing countries like India. An attempt should be made to analyse the research with a large sample size.

Research limitations: The scope of the data used in this study is limited by the source of retrieval, that is, the Scopus. The current source adequately serves the study’s purpose, as the Scopus database is one of the most significant citation databases. This study analyses data from the years 2014 to 2023 to improve credibility and reduce biases.

Practical implications: The research findings will significantly help researchers, green marketers, and practitioners be aware of the emerging markets of greenwashing and consumers’ rising greenwashing perception of green products.

Originality/value: This study is a novel attempt to explore a better understanding of greenwashing for researchers. The study is original; work has yet to be performed on this topic.

The chapter describes the research objectives and different steps of the systematic literature review of existing studies on greenwashing. Both academics and practitioners may find this literature review useful, as it identifies the key features of the greenwashing research in a wide range of disciplines (management, marketing, accounting, corporate communication, etc.). The systematic literature review sheds light on the greenwashing types (and research gaps) in which the phenomenon takes shape. Time horizon (1990–mid 2021), keywords selection for queries on academic search engines, data collection, filtering criteria, etc., are explained and discussed in detail before presenting the main results in terms of frequency of publications over years, leading outlets in greenwashing research, trending articles, levels of analysis, geographical affiliation of first authors, theoretical approaches and methods used in this field of research. The chapter concludes by summarising the main types of greenwashing and possible avenues of research.