The licensing effect of green luxury: Investigating the influence of green marketing on consumer purchase intentions for luxury products

Luxury brands increasingly adopt sustainability messages to enhance ethical legitimacy, yet such initiatives often serve symbolic rather than transformational purposes. This research examines how green marketing in luxury branding paradoxically increases consumers’ willingness to purchase non-sustainable luxury products. Across four experiments, Study 1 confirmed the main effect of green marketing on non-sustainable purchase intention. Study 2 showed that this effect is mediated by brand moral image. Study 3 and Study 4 identified two boundary conditions: the effect occurs only for luxury brands and is strengthened when consumers trust the brand’s motives but reversed under high green skepticism. These findings extend moral licensing effect to the luxury context, revealing how symbolic sustainability cues can legitimize indulgent, non-sustainable consumption. The study contributes to research on moral licensing, luxury consumption, and CSR communication, emphasizing that green marketing can strengthen brand legitimacy but may also backfire ethically if perceived as insincere.