Green Marketing and Consumer Trust: The Normative Foundations of Ethical Transformation

Abstract

This study argues that the relationship between green marketing and consumer trust must be understood not only through ethical discourse but also through legal oversight and verifiable environmental claims. As sustainability becomes increasingly central to brand positioning and competitive differentiation, consumers evaluate not only product attributes but also the credibility, consistency, and reliability of environmental claims. However, the growing prevalence of such claims has intensified concerns over greenwashing, leading to increased skepticism and weakening trust. This study uses an integrative conceptual approach, synthesizing marketing literature with global regulatory standards to develop a framework that aligns environmental brand claims with legal verifiability. Adopting a theoretical and conceptual approach, the study integrates an extensive literature review with a complementary regulatory perspective. It proposes that consumer trust in green marketing is shaped by three key dimensions: transparency, accountability, and normative alignment. Transparency refers to the clarity, comparability, and verifiability of environmental claims; accountability emphasizes monitoring, reporting, and third-party verification mechanisms; and normative alignment reflects the integration of sustainability principles into corporate strategies and decision-making processes. These dimensions are conceptualized as core drivers of trust formation, as they enhance the credibility of marketing communication and ensure consistency between corporate claims and actual practices. Although not treated as a primary focus, legal oversight provides an institutional framework that reinforces the credibility, comparability, and verifiability of environmental claims. Ultimately, the article argues that trust in green marketing is not merely a communicative promise but a multi-layered governance outcome that is legally supported and internalized at the organizational level.