Greenwashing

 The aim of this study is to provide a model for promoting citizens' water literacy for sustainable media-based development. According to the purpose of this research, it is an applied and exploratory type that has been obtained by the method of Strauss and Corbin's systematic method of data foundation theory. Due to the qualitative approach of the research, in-depth and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 34 experts in the fields of environment, water, social sciences, and communications using theoretical sampling. Then the data were analyzed and 1120 primary codes of open coding, 71 categories of axial coding, and 23 main factors of selective coding were identified. The main contribution of this research is the promotion of water literacy, which have been formed according to the causal conditions (targeting and policy-making in water literacy, water valuation, water attitudes, water skills, water knowledge, literacy promotion), the underlying factors (media diversity) as well as the intervening factors (media politicization, journalists' dependence on sources of power), which was obtained through the strategies such as a change in  educational system, pathology of educational master plans, interaction of industry, educational institutions and universities, promotion of social capital, interaction with media, audience, media greening, complete and rich media content, institutionalization of water discourse, agile media interaction. In the second stage, in order to weigh the causal conditions and strategies, hierarchical analysis was used. The results revealed that among the causal conditions, targeting and policy-making were the most important priorities in water literacy.

Greenwashing is considered as a deliberate and conscious deception of the consumer in relation to the environmental activities of an organization or the environmental benefits of a product, which has adverse consequences for various groups, including consumers, stakeholders and the environment, therefore, the purpose of this article was to analyze the different angles of greenwashing in the real context of the companies active in the dairy industry, as well as to identify and explain this phenomenon. The philosophy of this research is interpretive, its approach is qualitative, and the strategy used is grounded theory based on the emergent approach. The studied community included managers and activists of the dairy industry and related organizations, 15of whom were selected through purposive sampling until reaching theoretical saturation, and the research data was collected through semi-structured interviews. In order to check the strength of the research, the four criteria of reliability, transferability, reliability and verifiability have been used. The relevant data analysis has been done using MAXQDA software and open, central and selective coding processes, and during continuous comparison, 427codes, 27concepts, 11categories and 2categories have been obtained. which has led to the emergence of the final model of research around the central category under the title of "companies greenwashing actions" model. The mentioned model includes the causes and results related to the central category of the research. In general, this study, by explaining the greenwashing measures theory, has provided the necessary platform for understanding this category of measures as well as their control and prevention.

Today, many consumers advocate green products to reduce the effect of their consumption practices on the environment For this reason, companies have tried to produce green products, but many of the actions of companies in the field of green product production are misleading and deceptive, which is called greenwashing. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of understanding greenwashing, attitudes, and beliefs on green purchase intention among environmentalists. The population included the environmentalists in Kerman, to whom a standard electronic questionnaire was sent for data collection. Finally, 384 questionnaires were collected and analyzed. The findings indicated that the understanding of greenwashing has a positive effect on the confusion of green consumption and an increase in perceived risk. However, it can reduce the perceived benefit, satisfaction, and loyalty. In addition, the attitude and beliefs of the environmentalists have a positive effect on the perceived benefit, satisfaction, and loyalty. If environmentalists have a positive attitude toward green products, there will be less confusion about consuming green products.

The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of emerging technologies on green marketing strategies and brand-driven sustainable innovation in the digital age, alongside analyzing the phenomenon of greenwashing. This qualitative research employed a grounded theory approach, utilizing semi-structured interviews and open, axial, and selective coding for data analysis. The statistical population consisted of experts and marketing managers in the fields of branding and green marketing, from whom in-depth interviews were conducted for data collection. The findings revealed that during the data analysis process, initial codes were extracted and ultimately categorized into six main themes: "causal conditions," "contextual conditions," "intervening conditions," "strategies," "consequences," and "enabling factors." These core categories were identified as key components of the study, highlighting the complex interactions between emerging technologies and brand sustainability strategies. Furthermore, the results indicated that greenwashing primarily arises from the mismatch between brands’ environmental claims and their actual practices, leading to reputational damage and a decline in consumer trust. This research emphasizes that brands must prioritize transparency, authenticity, and the legitimacy of their actions, leveraging modern technologies for more accurate reporting and more effective engagement with consumers. The findings also underscore the importance of appropriate governance and the alignment of green marketing strategies with consumers’ real expectations.

Greenwashing is one of the emerging social harms in industry and companies, which can be considered a form of organizational hypocrisy and dissemination of misleading information to deceive citizens; in other words, greenwashing is the instrumental use of the concept of environmental protection with the aim of gaining economic profit.The purpose of this study is to identify and sociologically analyze the social factors influencing greenwashing, employing the Grey DEMATEL technique to determine the causal and interactive relationships among these factors. The statistical population of the study includes professors of the faculty of economics, management, and social sciences of Shiraz University. The sampling method was purposive sampling and the sample size was determined to be 12 people. Data were collected using library research methods and the questionnaire instrument.The results of the analysis using the Grey DEMATEL technique showed that the variables of social stress, social isolation, feeling of social insecurity, and decreased social participation had the greatest impact on greenwashing. It was also found that the variables of social distrust, physical and psychological risks, environmental risks, and reduced organizational creativity received the greatest impact from the greenwashing variable. In addition, in terms of importance, the variables of social distrust with a value of 6.52, physical and psychological risks with a value of 6.38, environmental risks with a value of 6.12, decreased organizational creativity with a value of 5.97, and decreased social participation with a value of 5.80 have the most importance.By reinforcing distrust and increasing social stress, greenwashing negatively affects both the mental and physical health of individuals and weakens the dynamism and efficiency of organizations, ultimately creating an obstacle to achieving sustainable development