Eco Illusions

Unmasking Greenwashing in the Shared Economy

Pawan Kumar|Sumesh S. Dadwal|Pooja Khanna|Rajesh Verma|Gordon Bowen
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Hardback
9781836627838
17 March 2026
$115.00
eBook (PDF)
9781836627821
24 February 2026
$115.00
eBook (ePub)
9781836627845
24 February 2026
$115.00

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  • Description
  • Contents
  • About

Some businesses engage in "greenwashing" or "shared washing," creating a misleading eco-friendly image to deceive consumers into thinking their services are environmentally friendly. As people become more aware of their environmental impact, scrutiny of these deceptive practices in the shared economy has increased. This phenomenon skews public perception, making companies seem more environmentally conscious than they actually are.

Eco Illusions: Unmasking Greenwashing in the Shared Economy explores the trends, issues, practices, and models of greenwashing within the shared economy. This edited collection examines the strategic and operational tactics that companies use to promote misleading environmental claims and create eco-friendly images that may not reflect reality. Authors analyse how shared economy businesses employ greenwashing strategies to present themselves as environmentally conscious, even when their actions contradict their claims. The collection provides recommendations for establishing credible Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards and legal regulations. It also offers practical advice to stakeholders on how to verify green claims and encourages companies to adopt ethical practices and greater transparency in their operations.

By equipping readers with knowledge and practical tools to identify misleading environmental claims, Eco Illusions empowers stakeholders to advocate for more authentic and transparent business practices in the shared economy.

Chapter 1. The Association Between Greenwashing, Green Economy, and Green Growth in Achieving the SDGs for Global Transformation; Mohd Farhan, Essa Yessuf Hussen, Rajesh Verma, Krishan Gopal, Pooja Khanna, Pritpal Singh, and Ruchika Kulshrestha

  • Chapter 2. Intersecting Paradigms: Reducing Greenwashing, Ensuring Sustainable Claims and Achieving Corporate Transparency; Arpit Tiwari, Shyam Sunder Agrawal, Pawan Kumar, and Seda Yıldırım
  • Chapter 3. Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Detect Greenwashing in Shared Economy Business Models; N. Suma Reddy and Pooja Khanna
  • Chapter 4. The Role of Technology and Social Media in Exposing Greenwashing in the Shared Economy; Abdillahi Mohamoud Sheikh Muse, Abubakar Sadiq Muhammad, Labaran Isiaku, and Jana Al Hajj
  • Chapter 5. Greenwashing in the Age of Digital Media: An Empirical Study; Mahnoor Sahrash, Soumya Nedunuri, Sumayya Fatima, and Anvita Chitrapu
  • Chapter 6. Eco-Stories: How Companies Interact in the Digital Age; Narinder Kaur, Dheeraj Nim, and Sanjay Bahl
  • Chapter 7. Moderating Role of Demographic Variables in the Link between Greenwashing Perception, Attitude, and Green Purchase Intention; Kritika Gupta
  • Chapter 8. Beyond the Green Facade: New Challenges in Detecting and Preventing Greenwashing in Indian Companies; Ram Singh, Vinay Pal Singh, Rohit Bansal, and Fazla Rabby
  • Chapter 9. Unmasking Greenwashing and Building Social Trust: Role of Social Media Influencer; Pinnika Syam Yadav, P B Narendra Kiran, M Ruben Anto, G N P V Babu, Ankitha Sharma, and Arun Kumar
  • Chapter 10. Unmasking Greenwashing in the Outdoor Sporting Industry: The Illusion of Sustainability in the Shift to a Circular Model; Avtar Singh, Rahul Sharma, and Dalwinder Kaur Dhillon
  • Chapter 11. Growth of Climate Finance Across the Nations and the Emergence of Greenwashing; Laiba Anwar and Rupesh Roshan Singh
  • Chapter 12. Eco-Fashion Facades: How Rebranding and Influencer Culture Fuel Greenwashing in Fast Fashion; Shamily Jaggi, Shabnam Gulati, and Arvind Kumar
  • Chapter 13. Green Promises and Platform Realities: Regulatory Responses to Greenwashing in the Sharing Economy; Sonal Jain
  • Chapter 14. The Evolution of Greenwashing Research in the Context of the Shared Economy: Insights from a Bibliometric Study; Animesh Kumar Sharma, Rahul Sharma, and Rohit Duggal
  • Chapter 15. Age and Gender Differences in Consumer Attitudes Toward Cruelty-Free Cosmetics: Integrating Social Identity Theory within the Stimulus-Organism-Response Framework; Jyoti Malik, Jyoti Grover, Deepak Bisht, and Pawan Kumar

Pawan Kumar is Professor in the Department of Marketing at Mittal School of Business, Lovely Professional University, Punjab, India.

Sumesh S. Dadwal is Lecturer with Northumbria London Campus and Visiting Lecturer at University of West London and the University of Plymouth (London), UK.

Pooja Khanna is Associate Professor in the Department of Marketing at Mittal School of Business, Lovely Professional University, Punjab, India.

Rajesh Verma is Professor of Strategy at the Mittal School of Business, Lovely Professional University, India.

Gordon Bowen is Associate Professor at Anglia Ruskin University, UK.