From Green Faces to Green Wallets: An Interplay of Green Brand Anthropomorphism, Dual-Trust Mechanisms, Green Brand Love and Eco-Label Credibility in Sustainable Consumption Intentions

Abstract

Despite growing consumer interest in sustainability, green brands encounter difficulties in translating eco-friendly sentiments into purchase intent due to widespread skepticism, unverifiable environmental claims, and greenwashing challenges. Integrating Anthropomorphism and Attachment Theories, this study investigates cognitive and emotional green brand trust as parallel mediators of green brand anthropomorphism and the willingness to buy, by considering green brand love and eco-label credibility as critical boundary conditions. Using partial least squares structural equation modeling in SmartPLS 4.1, a cross-sectional survey of 305 customers who were familiar with green brands was analyzed. Green brand anthropomorphism was strongly associated with willingness to buy, and both trust dimensions functioned as complementary partial mediators, with the emotional pathway being substantially stronger. Contrary to expectations, green brand love moderated this association negatively, with humanized cues being more influential among consumers with weaker rather than stronger attachment, whereas eco-label credibility exhibited a positive but non-significant moderating effect. Humanized green communication therefore drives customer’s willingness to buy primarily through affective relational security rather than cognitive confidence, with no evidence that institutional verification amplifies it. Brand managers should prioritize warmth-led communication grounded in verifiable evidence; certification bodies should improve the independent credibility of eco-labels; and policymakers should integrate credible certification with substantiation requirements to protect emotionally persuasive messaging from greenwashing.