Greenwashing

This study examines how young people in Croatia perceive greenwashing, an organizational‎ communication practice where sustainability is overemphasized in communications while real‎ environmental impact is neglected. Despite growing ecological awareness among youth, research‎ analyzing their attitudes toward greenwashing, especially in Croatia, is scarce. This study applies‎ descriptive statistics, ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis, and Mann-Whitney U tests to analyze a nationaly‎ representative sample of youth. The research shows that most youth disapprove of greenwashing,‎ with female respondents exhibiting stronger environmental values and greater condemnation of‎ greenwashing practices. The research also reveals significant differences in how different types of‎ greenwashing are perceived, especially those involving organizations in environmentally harmful ‎industries. As one of the rare empirical investigations of greenwashing attitudes among Croatian youth,‎ this paper contributes to the understanding of their perceptions and behaviors, as well as to the broader ‎discourse on environmental responsibility and consumer skepticism. The insights of this research can‎ influence future policy, education, marketing, media and communication strategies used by different‎ organizations engaging in different types of communication with environmentally conscious youth.‎