Perceived Ethics Washing and Purchase Intention in the Skincare Market: The Roles of Customer Distrust and Environmental Awareness

Anni Rahimah; Nasywa Rizky Amalia; Jennifer; Prestisia Mega Ayumi; Airin Diyanti Tambun; Sartika

doi:10.52423/businessuho.v11i2.143

Penulis

Anni Rahimah Business Administration Department, Universitas Brawijaya https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2922-4927
Nasywa Rizky Amalia Business Administration Department, Universitas Brawijaya
Jennifer Business Administration Department, Universitas Brawijaya
Prestisia Mega Ayumi Business Administration Department, Universitas Brawijaya
Airin Diyanti Tambun Business Administration Department, Universitas Brawijaya
Sartika Business Administration Department, Universitas Brawijaya https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9013-1212

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52423/businessuho.v11i2.143

Abstrak

Ethical and sustainability claims have become a central marketing tool in the skincare industry, yet many of these claims are not supported by actual business practices, a phenomenon known as ethics washing. Existing research remains dominated by studies of greenwashing in developed markets. This study examines the relationships between perceived ethics washing and customer distrust, environmental awareness, and purchase intention, as well as the relationships of customer distrust and environmental awareness with purchase intention, among Indonesian consumers of a selected skincare brand (A Skincare). Drawing on signalling theory, data were collected from 150 repeat buyers (more than three purchases) through an online questionnaire using purposive sampling and analysed with partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS 4. The results show that perceived ethics washing is positively associated with both customer distrust and environmental awareness but has no significant direct relationship with purchase intention. Customer distrust is negatively associated with purchase intention, whereas environmental awareness is positively associated with it. These findings suggest that unsubstantiated ethical claims act as weak signals: they draw consumers’ attention to environmental issues but erode trust in the brand. Skincare firms should support ethical claims with verifiable evidence, such as third-party certification and transparent ingredient disclosure, while regulators should strengthen the oversight of ethical and environmental claims.

Keywords: Perceived ethics washing; customer distrust; environmental awareness;purchase intention; signalling theory.

Biografi Penulis

Anni Rahimah, Business Administration Department, Universitas Brawijaya

Dr. Anni Rahimah, Ph.D is an Associate Professor in the Department of Business Administration, Universitas Brawijaya, Indonesia. Her research interests include ESG, green marketing, sustainability, eco-innovation, brand management, consumer and social responsibility also sustainable tourism. She has published her research in Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Journal of Product & Brand Management, Sustainable Production and Consumption, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, Innovation and Development, Current Issues in Tourism, Cogent Business and Management, etc. Anni Rahimah can be contacted at: anni@ub.ac.id

Referensi

Abeysekera, I., Manalang, L., David, R., & Grace Guiao, B. (2022). Accounting for Environmental Awareness on Green Purchase Intention and Behaviour: Evidence from the Philippines. In Sustainability (Vol. 14, Issue 19). https://doi.org/10.3390/su141912565

Ajayi, S. A., Olaniyi, O. O., Oladoyinbo, T. O., Ajayi, N. D., & Olaniyi, F. G. (2024). Sustainable sourcing of organic skincare ingredients: A critical analysis of ethical concerns and environmental implications. Asian Journal of Advanced Research and Reports, 18(1), 65–91.

Andika, A., Nadia, N., Najmudin, M., & Hasibuan, A. B. (2023). Green Cosmetics in Indonesia: Unraveling Attitude-Behavior Gap and Gender Moderation. Jurnal Aplikasi Manajemen, 21(4 SE-Articles), 1134–1152. https://doi.org/10.21776/ub.jam.2023.021.04.20

Asio, J. R. G., Garcia, J. S., Antonatos, C., Sevilla-Nastor, J. B., & Trinidad, L. C. (2023). Sodium lauryl sulfate and its potential impacts on organisms and the environment: A thematic analysis. Emerging Contaminants, 9(1), 100205. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emcon.2023.100205

Astira, A. A., Yulianto, E., & Rahimah, A. (2025). From Recall to Commitment: The Influence of Distributive Justice and Severity Recall on Affective Trust and Corporate Reputation in the Automotive Sector. Jurnal Manajemen Teori Dan Terapan, 18(1), 41.

Bietti, E. (2021). From Ethics Washing to Ethics Bashing: A Moral Philosophy View on Tech Ethics. Journal of Social Computing, 2(3), 266–283. https://doi.org/10.23919/JSC.2021.0031

Brugman, Britta C, van Huijstee, Dian, & Droog, Ellen. (2024). Debunking the corporate paint shop: Examining the effects of misleading corporate social responsibility claims on social media. New Media & Society, 14614448241288482. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448241288482

Choubey, V., Joshi, P., Chakraborty, D., Khare, A., & Appolloni, A. (2025). Signals vs. Reality: Consumer Responses to Green Claims in Quick Commerce. Business Strategy and the Environment, 34(3), 3656–3671.

Collange, V., Bernard, Y., Ingarao, A., & Zarrouk-Karoui, S. (2025). The impact of ethical logos on purchase intention: the mediating role of product social responsibility. European Journal of Marketing, 59(4), 849–878. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-02-2023-0112

Costa, C. S. R., Costa, M. F. da, Maciel, R. G., Aguiar, E. C., & Wanderley, L. O. (2021). Consumer antecedents towards green product purchase intentions. Journal of Cleaner Production, 313, 127964. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127964

Crane, A., Matten, D., Glozer, S., & Spence, L. J. (2019). Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press, USA.

de Freitas Netto, S. V., Sobral, M. F. F., Ribeiro, A. R. B., & Soares, G. R. da L. (2020). Concepts and forms of greenwashing: A systematic review. Environmental Sciences Europe, 32, 1–12.

Elidawaty Purba, Bonaraja Purba, A. S., Fastabiqul Khairad, Darwin Damanik, V. S., Ari Mulianta Ginting, H. P. S., & Nurma Fitrianna, Arfandi SN, R. E. (2021). Metode Penelitian Ekonomi.

Guerreiro, J., & Pacheco, M. (2021). How green trust, consumer brand engagement and green word-of-mouth mediate purchasing intentions. Sustainability, 13(14), 7877.

Ha, M.-T. (2022). Greenwash and green brand equity: The mediating role of green brand image, green satisfaction, and green trust, and the moderating role of green concern. Plos One, 17(11), e0277421.

Hair, J. F., & Abdullah, A. (2022). Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) in second language and education research: Guidelines using an applied example. Research Methods in Applied Linguistics, 1(3), 100027.

Hair, J. F., & Brunsveld, N. (2019). Essentials of business research methods. In Essentials of Business Research Methods. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429203374

Hair, J., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C., & Sarstedt, M. (2022). A Primer on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM).

Hu, X., Chen, X., & Davison, R. M. (2019). Social support, source credibility, social influence, and impulsive purchase behavior in social commerce. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 23(3), 297–327.

Ibau, S., Mawardi, M. K., & Rahimah, A. (2025). The Impact of Greenwashing on Perceived Environmental Performance Toward Brand Avoidance and Brand Switching. Profit: Jurnal Adminsitrasi Bisnis, 19(2), 98-112.

Inês, A., Diniz, A., & Moreira, A. C. (2023). A review of greenwashing and supply chain management: Challenges ahead. Cleaner Environmental Systems, 11, 100136. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cesys.2023.100136

Isac, N., Javed, A., Radulescu, M., Cismasu, I. D. L., Yousaf, Z., & Serbu, R. S. (2025). Is greenwashing impacting on green brand trust and purchase intentions? Mediating role of environmental knowledge. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 27(9), 21329–21346. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-023-04352-0

Järvi, H., Keränen, J., Ritala, P., & Vilko, J. (2020). Value co-destruction in hotel services: Exploring the misalignment of cognitive scripts among customers and providers. Tourism Management, 77, 104030.

Jesse, T., Niina, S., Lauri, H., Vilma, L. aho, & Terhi-Anna, W. (2025). Young consumers’ brand distrust model: Understanding the antecedents of young consumers’ distrust of brands. Journal of Business Research, 190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115250

Joshi, Y., Uniyal, D. P., & Sangroya, D. (2021). Investigating consumers’ green purchase intention: Examining the role of economic value, emotional value and perceived marketplace influence. Journal of Cleaner Production, 328, 129638. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.129638

Keymolen, E. (2024). Trustworthy tech companies: talking the talk or walking the walk? AI and Ethics, 4(2), 169–177. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43681-022-00254-5

Khaleeli, M., & Jawabri, A. (2021). The effect of environmental awareness on consumers’ attitudes and consumers’ intention to purchase environmentally friendly products: Evidence from United Arab Emirates. Management Science Letters, 11(2), 555–560.

Khandai, S., Zupic, I., Kohli, H. S., Kataria, S., Yadav, R., & Mathew, J. (2025). Greenwashing and its consequences: the role of skepticism, brand embarrassment, and brand hate in shaping purchase intentions. Quality & Quantity, 59(4), 3723–3749. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-025-02132-8

Kifaya, R. (2024). Consumer skepticism towards organic beauty products Cross-country research. Future Business Journal, 10(1), 108. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43093-024-00393-7

Koch, T., & Denner, N. (2025). Different shades of green deception. Greenwashing’s adverse effects on corporate image and credibility. Public Relations Review, 51(1), 102521. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2024.102521

Kock, F., Berbekova, A., & Assaf, A. G. (2021). Understanding and managing the threat of common method bias: Detection, prevention and control. Tourism Management, 86, 104330.

Kreczmańska-Gigol, K., & Gigol, T. (2022). The impact of consumers’ green skepticism on the purchase of energy-efficient and environmentally friendly products. Energies, 15(6), 2077.

Kumari, K., Singh, A., & Marathe, D. (2024). Cyclic volatile methyl siloxanes (D4, D5, and D6) as the emerging pollutants in environment: environmental distribution, fate, and toxicological assessments. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 31(27), 38681–38709. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-25568-7

Lăzăroiu, G., Neguriţă, O., Grecu, I., Grecu, G., & Mitran, P. C. (2020). Consumers’ Decision-Making Process on Social Commerce Platforms: Online Trust, Perceived Risk, and Purchase Intentions. Frontiers in Psychology, Volume 11-2020. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00890

Le, A., Tan, K.-L., Yong, S.-S., Soonsap, P., Lipa, C. J., & Ting, H. (2022). Perceptions towards green image of trendy coffee cafés and intention to re-patronage: the mediating role of customer citizenship behavior. Young Consumers, 23(2), 165–178. https://doi.org/10.1108/YC-03-2021-1291

Lee, S. J., Ahn, C., Song, K. M., & Ahn, H. (2018). Trust and distrust in e-commerce. Sustainability (Switzerland), 10(4). https://doi.org/10.3390/su10041015

Li, D. (2025). Impact of green advertisement and environmental knowledge on intention of consumers to buy green products. BMC Psychology, 13(1), 220. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-02538-x

Li, Y.-F., & Lin, F.-S. (2024). Exploring Design Strategies for Cultivating Sustainability and Enhancing Brand Image in Personal Care Product Brands. Sustainability, 16(6), 2476.

Liu, X., Lischka, H. M., & Kenning, P. (2018). Asymmetric cognitive, emotional and behavioural effects of values-related and performance-related negative brand publicity. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 27(2), 128–145.

Milan, G. S., Bebber, S., Toni, D. De, & Eberle, L. (2015). Information Quality, Distrust and Perceived Risk as Antecedents of Purchase Intention in the Online Purchase Context. Journal of Management Information System & E-Commerce, June 2016. https://doi.org/10.15640/jmise.v2n2a2

Murniawaty, I. (2019). An Assessment of Environmental Awarness:The Role of Ethic Education. JSSH (Jurnal Sains Sosial Dan Humaniora), 2(2), 225. https://doi.org/10.30595/jssh.v2i2.3431

Nekmahmud, M., Naz, F., Ramkissoon, H., & Fekete-Farkas, M. (2022). Transforming consumers’ intention to purchase green products: Role of social media. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 185, 122067. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2022.122067

Neves, M. E., Santos, A., & Proença, C. (2023). The influence of corporate governance and corporate social responsibility on corporate performance : an Iberian panel data evidence. EuroMed Journal of Business, Vol. 18 No(November), 552–574. https://doi.org/10.1108/EMJB-01-2022-0002

Nguyen, T. T., Yang, Z., Nguyen, N., Johnson, L. W., & Cao, T. K. (2019). Greenwash and Green Purchase Intention: The Mediating Role of Green Skepticism. In Sustainability (Vol. 11, Issue 9). https://doi.org/10.3390/su11092653

Nyagadza, B., Kadembo, E. M., & Makasi, A. (2021). When corporate brands tell stories: A signalling theory perspective. Cogent Psychology, 8(1), 1897063.

Ogiemwonyi, O., Alam, M. N., Alshareef, R., Alsolamy, M., Azizan, N. A., & Mat, N. (2023). Environmental factors affecting green purchase behaviors of the consumers: Mediating role of environmental attitude. Cleaner Environmental Systems, 10, 100130. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cesys.2023.100130

Okada, T., Tamaki, T., & Managi, S. (2019). Effect of environmental awareness on purchase intention and satisfaction pertaining to electric vehicles in Japan. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 67, 503–513. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2019.01.012

Palihawadana, D., Oghazi, P., & Liu, Y. (2016). Effects of ethical ideologies and perceptions of CSR on consumer behavior. Journal of Business Research, 69(11), 4964–4969.

Pino, G., Amatulli, C., De Angelis, M., & Peluso, A. M. (2016). The influence of corporate social responsibility on consumers’ attitudes and intentions toward genetically modified foods: evidence from Italy. Journal of Cleaner Production, 112, 2861–2869.

Prakash, G., Sharma, S., Kumar, A., & Luthra, S. (2024). Does the purchase intention of green consumers align with their zero-waste buying behaviour? An empirical study on a proactive approach towards embracing waste-free consumption. Heliyon, 10(3), e25022. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e25022

Robichaud, Z., & Yu, H. (2022). Do young consumers care about ethical consumption? Modelling Gen Z’s purchase intention towards fair trade coffee. British Food Journal, 124(9), 2740–2760.

Ryoo, Y., & Kim, W. (2023). Price-ethicality association: When price discounts inhibit ethical purchasing. Journal of Business Research, 169, 114242. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.114242

Santos, C., Coelho, A., & Marques, A. M. A. (2024). Unmasking supplier greenwashing: How information sharing and green trust shape clients’ sustainability. Baltic Journal of Management, 19(4), 455–472.

Schultz, M. D., Conti, L. G., & Seele, P. (2024). Digital ethicswashing: a systematic review and a process-perception-outcome framework. AI and Ethics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43681-024-00430-9

Simanjuntak, M., Nafila, N. L., Yuliati, L. N., Johan, I. R., Najib, M., & Sabri, M. F. (2023). Environmental Care Attitudes and Intention to Purchase Green Products: Impact of Environmental Knowledge, Word of Mouth, and Green Marketing. In Sustainability (Vol. 15, Issue 6, p. 5445). https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065445

Singh, J., Crisafulli, B., & Xue, M. T. (2020). ‘To trust or not to trust’: The impact of social media influencers on the reputation of corporate brands in crisis. Journal of Business Research, 119, 464–480.

Speckemeier, L., & Tsivrikos, D. (2022). Evidence of Greenwashing in Talent Attraction: Can Job Seekers Successfully Detect Deceptive Job Advertisements? International Journal of Marketing & Human Resource Research, 3(4), 225–251. https://doi.org/10.47747/ijmhrr.v3i4.601

Su, L., Swanson, S. R., Hsu, M., & Chen, X. (2017). How does perceived corporate social responsibility contribute to green consumer behavior of Chinese tourists: A hotel context. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 29(12), 3157–3176.

Suphasomboon, T., & Vassanadumrongdee, S. (2026). Perceived greenwashing and its impact on consumer behavior in the cosmetic industry. Cleaner and Responsible Consumption, 20, 100377. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clrc.2025.100377

Suryani, T., Fauzi, A. A., & Nurhadi, M. (2022). What should companies do to improve brand awareness through Instagram? The lens of signalling theory. Asian Journal of Business and Accounting, 247–279.

Szabo, S., & Webster, J. (2021). Perceived greenwashing: the effects of green marketing on environmental and product perceptions. Journal of Business Ethics, 171, 719–739.

Vredenburg, J., Kapitan, S., Spry, A., & Kemper, J. A. (2020). Brands taking a stand: Authentic brand activism or woke washing? Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 39(4), 444–460.

Wahyudi, S. (2019). Pengaruh Kepercayaan Terhadap Loyalitas Konsumen Yang Memunculkan Distrust. Sisi Lain Realita, 3(2), 100–112. https://doi.org/10.25299/sisilainrealita.2018.vol3(2).3721

Walter, N., Föhl, U., Sander, F., & Nies, A. (2024). Act as you preach! Authentic brand purpose versus “woke washing’s” impact on brand credibility: The moderating role of cause involvement and consumer skepticism. Journal of Business Research, 184, 114868.

Wang, D., & Walker, T. (2023). How to Regain Green Consumer Trust after Greenwashing: Experimental Evidence from China. Sustainability (Switzerland), 15(19). https://doi.org/10.3390/su151914436

Wang, Y., Zhao, Y., & Song, F. (2020). The Ethical Issues of Animal Testing in Cosmetics Industry. Humanities and Social Sciences, 8, 112. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20200804.12

Zhao, D., Shi, X., Wei, S., & Ren, J. (2021). Comparing Antecedents of Chinese Consumers’ Trust and Distrust. Frontiers in Psychology, Volume 12. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.648883

Zhao, H., Jiang, L., & Su, C. (2020). To defend or not to defend? How responses to negative customer review affect prospective customers’ distrust and purchase intention. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 50(1), 45–64.

Zhuang, M., Zhu, W., Huang, L., & Pan, W.-T. (2022). Research of influence mechanism of corporate social responsibility for smart cities on consumers’ purchasing intention. Library Hi Tech, 40(5), 1147–1158.