Greenwashing as a Digital Marketing Strategy: A Conceptual Framework and Literature Review

Abstract

Digitalization has transformed marketing strategies and given brands space for sustainability discourses on online platforms. Brands that want to gain consumer trust through environmental awareness have turned to 'greenwashing' strategies by creating environmentally friendly images that are not based on real practices. This study aims to present a conceptual framework that addresses greenwashing in the context of digital marketing and to evaluate the academic literature examining how greenwashing strategies are used in digital channels in various sectors. In the first section, the basic definitions and strategies of digital marketing are discussed; greenwashing is conceptualized as a digital marketing strategy, and in this context, case studies in the literature are categorized according to sectors. This study, which includes academic research examining greenwashing practices in sectors such as fuel, fashion, and food, which are widely used areas of greenwashing, offers a critical evaluation of marketing strategies carried out through environmental awareness in the digital age.