A CONTENT-ANALYSIS OF ENVIRONMENTAL ADVERTISING CLAIMS - A MATRIX-METHOD APPROACH

As organizations seek to communicate with consumers who are concerned about the environment, advertisements containing environmental claims are becoming more prominent. While much has been written about environ mental advertising, this phenomenon has seldom been examined systemati cally. This paper presents an empirical study which combines two class ification schemes to create a matrix that identifies different types o f environmental claims and the likelihood that such claims will be jud ged as misleading and/or deceptive. Results suggest that those claims which extol the environmental benefits of products and those that are designed to enhance the environmental image of an organization are mos t prone to be considered misleading and/or deceptive. Methods for impr oving environmental advertising are suggested.