Date of Award
Spring 2020
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science (BS)
Advisor(s)
Jennifer O'Neil
Abstract
The world we live in is undergoing a cultural change in which environmental sustainability is at the forefront of social initiatives, and becoming an expectation of all brands and companies, rather than a mere passing trend. Driving the cultural change is the increasing awareness of the devastating and immense impact of industrial processes on the environment, and consumer’s call for transparency of corporate sustainability practices. In the United States, this shift is consumer-led, with product sustainability actively influencing consumer purchasing decisions, which in turn drive corporations and brands to make efforts to at least appear more sustainable, if not actually being more sustainable. While companies have taken measures, both internally and externally to try and meet consumer expectations, this may have also driven an increase in green-washing, the use of company marketing strategies to appear more sustainable in the eyes of consumers. Some environmental standards exist that attempt to measure the ‘true’ sustainability of a company, yet they fall short of being leading bodies, wide-reaching, and easily understood by consumers. While consumers are continually striving to make more sustainable purchases, they remain largely misinformed or led astray by the marketing efforts aimed at trying to position brands as sustainable in the eyes of the market. This research will attempt to measure a number of factors surrounding brands and sustainability. Specifically, the research objectives of this thesis are: Whether brands that have developed greater sustainability strategies enjoy long-term financial rewards as a result of their efforts. Whether corporate sustainability strategies that have been an intrinsic part of a brand ethos for longer periods of time reap the benefit of a sustainability halo that other brands, with sustainability strategies that are less-historied must catch-up to. The importance of sustainability to a brand’s story through comparative case studies of the outdoor wear, athletic sportswear, and coffee industries. A review of existing standards and practices will hopefully allow a standard of environmental sustainability best practices to emerge, cutting through the sustainability noise that consumers hear and establish something easily understood by consumers. This research will underscore the importance of measuring environmental sustainability, and highlight the disconnect between actual sustainability efforts and consumer’s grasp of actual sustainable actions of companies, informed by how they market their sustainability initiatives.
Recommended Citation
Lee, Isabelle, "Environmental Sustainability: Consumer Perception vs Reality" (2020). Gabelli School of Business Honors Thesis Collection. 77.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/gabelli_thesis/77
