The Illusion of Eco-Friendly Brands: Greenwashing and Consumer Backlash in Fast-Fashion Retail

Abstract

Escalating global commitments to sustainable development have encouraged fast-fashion retailers to integrate environmental narratives into corporate branding, yet the growing reliance on symbolic sustainability communication has simultaneously intensified the risk of greenwashing and public distrust. Addressing this tension, the research investigates how digitally connected consumers identify inconsistencies between corporate environmental claims and operational realities, and how such discoveries evolve into organized forms of digital resistance. An exploratory qualitative case study was employed using a systematically anonymized multinational retailer, designated as Brand Alpha, with evidence derived from corporate sustainability documents, green marketing campaigns, publicly accessible digital discourse, and netnographic observation. Thematic analysis revealed that contemporary consumers increasingly function as independent digital auditors who verify corporate claims by cross-referencing sustainability reports, supply chain information, environmental NGO publications, and user-generated content across online platforms. Once discrepancies become publicly visible, collaborative digital verification rapidly transforms individual skepticism into decentralized backlash, viral exposure, and consumer boycott movements that progressively weaken corporate legitimacy and erode symbolic brand equity. These findings demonstrate that sustainable competitive advantage can no longer rely upon symbolic environmental positioning alone, requiring green marketing management to embrace radically transparent, verifiable, and operationally substantiated sustainability practices capable of withstanding continuous public scrutiny within hyper-connected digital ecosystems.