# Taiwan survey linked perceived greenwashing with lower trust in a fictional food brand > An online study used a fictional oat-drink advertisement with 445 respondents. Its structural model associated stronger greenwashing perceptions with lower brand trust. URL: https://foodradar.org/study-greenwashing-perception-erodes-brand-trust-in-taiwanese-food-market Language: en Author: FoodRadar Editorial Published: 2026-10-19T06:00:10.000Z Updated: 2026-10-24T22:55:07.885Z Source publication date: 2026-08-17 Category: Markets Türkçe: https://foodradar.org/tr/study-greenwashing-perception-erodes-brand-trust-in-taiwanese-food-market Español: https://foodradar.org/es/study-greenwashing-perception-erodes-brand-trust-in-taiwanese-food-market Deutsch: https://foodradar.org/de/study-greenwashing-perception-erodes-brand-trust-in-taiwanese-food-market Italiano: https://foodradar.org/it/study-greenwashing-perception-erodes-brand-trust-in-taiwanese-food-market Русский: https://foodradar.org/ru/study-greenwashing-perception-erodes-brand-trust-in-taiwanese-food-market ## A fictional oat-drink scenario A study published in Foods on 17 August 2026 examined responses to a fictional oat-drink brand called Green Origin. Participants read a simulated advertisement claiming pollution-free production and packaging biodegradable in natural environments. The scenario also disclosed that biodegradation required ideal conditions in specialised laboratories. Researchers recruited Taiwanese adults with independent food-purchasing ability through convenience sampling on social media. The online survey ran from 17 March to 7 April 2026 and retained 445 valid responses from 464 submissions. Respondents rated 29 statements across eight constructs on a seven-point agreement scale. ## Perceived greenwashing and trust In the structural equation model, stronger greenwashing perception was associated with lower brand trust, with a standardised path coefficient of −0.808 and p \< 0.001. The trust questions concerned the fictional brand’s environmental commitment, performance and claims. The questionnaire also measured self-reported responses such as avoiding the company’s products and saying they would feel guilty if they bought them. The authors state that the cross-sectional path relationships should be interpreted as structural associations and predictive tendencies rather than strict causal inferences. ## The authors identify limits and further work The sample was highly educated: 81.6% held a university degree or higher. The authors note that convenience recruitment may limit generalisation and that a newly introduced fictional brand reduces purchasing realism. They also identify a possible gap between hypothetical online intentions and behaviour in physical shops. They propose more diverse sampling and studies involving familiar real-world brands, as well as experimental designs or longitudinal data on actual food purchases. The paper reports no external funding, and the authors declare no conflicts of interest. ## Source and licence Source: Huiyang Zhou, Yun-Chi Tsai, Yong-Yun Cheng and Han-Shen Chen. Green Food or Greenwashing Trap? The Impact of Greenwashing Perception on Brand Trust and Consumer Food Choices. Foods (2026), 15, 2877. DOI: 10.3390/foods15162877. © 2026 by the authors. CC BY 4.0. FoodRadar prepared and edited this summary. ## Sources and rights - [Green Food or Greenwashing Trap? The Impact of Greenwashing Perception on Brand Trust and Consumer Food Choices](https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15162877?utm_source=foodradar.org&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_content=study-greenwashing-perception-erodes-brand-trust-in-taiwanese-food-market-en). Foods. Huiyang Zhou, Yun-Chi Tsai, Yong-Yun Cheng and Han-Shen Chen (2026). Green Food or Greenwashing Trap? The Impact of Greenwashing Perception on Brand Trust and Consumer Food Choices. Foods 15:2877. DOI: 10.3390/foods15162877. © 2026 by the authors. CC BY 4.0. Edited and translated by FoodRadar. [CC-BY-4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/?utm_source=foodradar.org&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_content=study-greenwashing-perception-erodes-brand-trust-in-taiwanese-food-market-en-license). Adapted by FoodRadar. [Editorial standards](https://foodradar.org/editorial-policy)