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Industry surveyBBB National Programs, 2026

Broad green claims make consumers assume companies do more for the environment than the ad actually says.

Positioning & messaging

Reader Note:
This is the general statement of a finding the study tested with one example: shown an ad saying only “eco-friendly paper products”, participants were significantly more likely to assume renewable energy use, waste reduction and a sustainable supply chain as well. The report publishes no effect size, so the size of the halo is not shown, only its direction. The ads were simulated and the outcome was a stated assumption rather than anything participants did.
Evidence:
Experimental
Vendor interest:
Low
Sample:
Survey of 1,794 consumers in the United States shown simulated advertising across six product and service categories.

Good for

Backing budget and pricing decisions in similar situations.

Not for

  • Situations far from the one tested, without checking again.
  • The source never says when this data was collected. It could be considerably older than the publication date suggests.
  • The source never says how this number was measured.
  • This was measured in one market. It may not hold where you are.
  • The source says how much it looked at, but not how any of it was chosen.

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