The Impact of Authenticity and Transparency of Eco-labeling in Cosmetic Product Purchase Decision 

The Impact of Authenticity and Transparency of Eco-labeling in Cosmetic Product Purchase Decision | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article The Impact of Authenticity and Transparency of Eco-labeling in Cosmetic Product Purchase Decision Ujjwal Adhikari, Tanmoy De, Umesh Singh Yadav, Surya Bahadur G C, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8331218/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 11 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The study analyzes impact of perceived green authenticity and transparency of eco-labels on consumers' purchasing decisions of cosmetic items. The mediating effect of green trust in the relationship is also examined. Utilizing a quantitative, cross-sectional methodology, data is collected from 250 cosmetic users in Pokhara Valley, Nepal, administered through structured questionnaire. The study has employed PLS-SEM in SmartPLS for analysis. Findings reveal perceived green authenticity (β = 0.275, p < 0.001) and perceived green transparency (β = 0.601, p < 0.001) have significant direct positive influences on purchasing decisions and are strong predictors of green trust (β = 0.514 and β = 0.456, respectively; p < 0.001). Nonetheless, green trust does not substantially influence purchase decisions (β = 0.116, p = 0.282) and does not mediate the links between authenticity/transparency and purchase decisions. The results disclose that customer basically respond to the instantaneous credibility and transparency of eco-label information rather than to a thoughtful emotional trust in the brand within the cosmetic sector. The practical consequences necessitate the cosmetic companies to importantly design and emphasize credible, transparent sustainability communication and genuine environmental measures to effectively influence purchasing behavior of consumers buying cosmetics. eco-labeling perceived green authenticity perceived green transparency green trust purchase decision cosmetics Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 1. Introduction In the few last years, a substantial increase in the environmental awareness of the masses across the globe, heightened the worries regarding the matter of burning global problems like the climate change, environmental degradation, pollution, and unhealthy usage of resources. Sustainable development has attracted much interest in countries, both producers and consumers call on the need to become environmental responsible. It has led to a paradigm shift where production and consumption of ecological or green products have developed to be a primary focus of modern business practices and consumerism as a signifier of a shared vision of the more sustainable future. Consumers are currently becoming more interested in patronizing products and services that conform to environmental and social values. Some of them even pay a price premium to products that they believe to be a contributor to environmental conservation, and social responsibility (Zhang et al., 2023 ). This increased necessity has intensified the proliferation of green markets in different businesses, food, fashion, and more so cosmetics. As a result, enterprises have reacted to this trend by marketing themselves as environmentally friendly, integrating sustainable business methods, adopting green technologies, and gaining eco-labels and similar certification. Eco-labels are important communication tools that enable consumers to have information on the environmental attributes of a product thus making informed decisions when buying the product. These labels are often issued by the accredited bodies or authorities and act as official affirmations that a product or service is of a certain quality as per the set standards of environmental standards. Using eco-labels increases transparency and helps bridge the gap between producers and consumers. It develops trust and encourages responsible consumption (Li, 2025 ). However, the concerns regarding greenwashing which are exaggerated claims about environment is causing serious concerns. Such manipulative actions can mislead consumers and negatively impact their belief in truly sustainable brands (Buratto & Lotti, 2023 ). Increased discourse in global level regarding sustainability has drawn attention towards environmental considerations. The issue is forefront in political, scientific, and societal agendas (Perret et al., 2025 ). Growing awareness has significantly impacted consumer behavior. It has led to increased demand for items that conform to environmentally sustainable principles (Simo et al., 2022; Suphasomboon & Vassanadumrongdee, 2022 ). The phenomena is also prevalent in cosmetic products. Consumers are becoming more perceptive about the ingredients used in cosmetic and environmental issues (Adil et al., 2024 ). The change in consumer behavior has increased importance of eco-labeling. It is an essential tool for firms to convey their dedication to sustainability. It directly affects consumer perceptions of product legitimacy and effectiveness (Simao et al., 2022 ). The growth of "natural claims" on cosmetic packaging seeks to capitalize on shifting consumer values. However, its actual influence on purchase intentions is a difficult subject of investigation. Moreover, such claims often capitalize on the "natural-is-better" bias. But the impact of perceived authenticity of such cognitive heuristics needs additional examination (Simo et al., 2022). The concern for environmental sustainability has received a lot of attention in cosmetic industry too. It has occurred due to growing global concern regarding the natural resources, chemicals used by the industry and waste production. Ecologically aware consumers are becoming more sensitive to the ecological footprint of cosmetic products and the truthfulness of sustainability statements of producers. With increasing awareness and education level, consumers are becoming more discerning and they want to see through product labeling and marketing messages and require transparency and authenticity. Cosmetic companies have responded by increasing their activities in promoting products as eco-friendly, and they most commonly have eco-labels as the tool of delivering environmental credibility. But claims that are not authentic, transparent, should be too dangerous as they may destroy consumer trust, which is an important factor that is hard to regain once the damage is created. To companies, this dynamism highlights the role of integrity in green marketing. Although the short-term financial benefits of false environmental claims might be high, there are ways in which they have severe effects on the reputation and long-term sustainability of a company. Organizations are therefore required to make sure that their environmental claims are authentic, verifiable and transparent. To build and sustain consumer confidence in green products and brands, it is necessary to understand how they view such claims. Although the current literatures on green marketing have continued to expand, little has been done on perceptions of consumers about the authenticity and transparency of eco-labeling especially regarding the impacts of the two on purchasing behavior in the cosmetic market. Customers should have access to robust and transparent information to determine whether the environmental and social benefits of eco-labeled products are delivered. Distrust and diminished efficiency of eco-labels as a means of sustainable consumption may arise because of a lack of transparency or authenticity (Schiaroli et al., 2024 ). This study aims exploring effect of perceived authenticity and transparency of eco-labeling on the buying actions of consumers towards the purchase of cosmetic products. Besides, the study aims at exploring the mediating effect of green trust in this relationship. Investigating these interconnections, the study can be very useful to marketers, policymakers and business enterprises who may aim at achieving sustainable consumption habits, consumer confidence, and improving the quality of eco-labelling systems in the new green economy. This study also tries to further integrate existing research on eco-labeling in cosmetic items, examining its complex effects on consumer perceived authenticity and consequent purchasing decisions, specifically regarding natural claims and their related biases. 2. Literature Review, Hypothesis Development and Research Framework Environmental knowledge Environmental knowledge and awareness of customers makes them conscious of the environmental impact of products. It builds more informed attitude toward ecological issues. The level of their awareness affects their buying choices. The result directs them in purchasing green items. Environmental knowledge refers to an individual’s conceptual understanding of causes and effects of environmental issues. It also informs them about actions necessary for addressing them. It also includes information collection on aspects of environmental issues and becoming aware of collective responsibilities needed for green consumerism. Greater knowledge on environmental issues promotes positive attitude towards the issue. It consequently influences green consumption intention and customer behavior. Eco-labelling Green labels also termed as eco-labels refers to symbols or logos on product packaging which communicates environmental friendliness (Sharma & Kushwaha, 2019 ). Morgan and Hunt ( 1994 ) define trust as “when one party has confidence in an exchange partner’s reliability and integrity.” This study conceptually defines trust in green labels as confidence of customers in reliability and integrity of eco-labeling. Signaling theory argues that customers rely on visible cues offered by eco-labels in assessing product attributes to assess authenticity (Berger, 2019). Eco-level offer signals on environmental benefits of green products. Customers tend to perceive authenticity after they trust credibility of these labels. Green Authenticity Authenticity refers to credibility of a business organization. It is demonstrated when its claims and promises are truthful. Green authenticity denotes the sustainability efforts of organizations that are actually practiced. The practice should be free from misleading or false claims. It is significant in contexts where consumers are frequently exposed to brand advertisements. Consumers favor environmentally friendly brands over non-green alternatives. Therefore, many companies promote their operations as environmentally sustainable. But such claims can create uncertainty among consumers regarding whether such claims true. It may also be an attempt to enhance green image. In cosmetic industry, authentic green branding has been shown to strongly influence individuals’ perceptions. According to the study conducted by Hanhimäki, ( 2025 ), authenticity, honesty, transparency, and quality were found to be significant factors influencing consumer trust. The study of Aswar, ( 2024 ) also support it with the finding educational level and authenticity of brand influences green trust as well as purchase decisions. This perspective is supported by a systematic literature review. Moreover, (Sodergren, 2021 ) review highlights three key thematic dimensions of authenticity: the distinguishing features that separate the genuine from the false, the legitimizing role of authenticity as well as moral aspects of authentication. Based on this discussion, following hypotheses are proposed: H 1 : Perceived green authenticity has positive relationship with purchase decision of customer. H 2 : Green trust mediates relationship between perceived green authenticity and purchase decision. H 3 : Perceived green authenticity has positive relationship with green trust Green Transparency Perceived green transparency is seen to be the degree of consumer belief that the company shares truthful, full and verifiable information about its environmental performance, product composition and sustainability performance. Previous studies indicate that consumers are more prone to make a positive assessment regarding the brand in case the firms advertise the environmental information publicly, i.e., via apparent labeling, certification, and conspicuous sustainability reporting (Herbes et al., 2024 ). As a result of transparent communication, the information asymmetry and uncertainty are minimized and consumers can evaluate whether the green claims are authentic or just marketing messages. Thus, the perceived green transparency positively influences the decision of consumers to buy a product because transparency raises the confidence level and predisposes the customers to making a choice in favor of the products that do not contradict the environmental values of consumers (Liu et al., 2025 ). Transparency is also important in determining the green trust which is the belief that clients have on the environmental commitments and claims of a brand. Research has shown that by displaying verifiable environmental performance, including believable eco-certifications, ingredient disclosure, as well as sustainability reporting, consumers become confident of the authenticity of green claims. On the other hand, unclear or unprovable environmental messages bring about suspicion and diminish trust (Sneideriene & Legenzova, 2025 ). Therefore, goodwill in the integrity of a brand is led through the transparent reporting of green practices. Moreover, green trust is a mediating factor between the green transparency and the purchase decisions of the customers. Consumers would not mind transparency, but it is the sense of trust that will change perceptions of transparency to the intention to purchase (Sun et al., 2025 ). Transparency increases perceived risks minimization, trust, and purchase intention are more likely to be acted upon after customers believe that the brand is committed to the environment and is more likely to act (J. Yang & Battocchio, 2020 ). The trust transforms information into action by enhancing the reliability of green assertions and diminishes skepticism about product functionality or other authenticity. Green trust, therefore, steps between the perceived transparency and purchase decision. H 4 : Perceived green transparency has significantly positive relationship with the purchase decision of customer. H 5 : Green trust mediates relationship between perceived green transparency and purchase decision. H 6 : Perceived green transparency has significantly positive relationship with green trust. Green Trust Trust in company and its products is essential for establishing long-term relations with stakeholders. For it, companies need to demonstrate consistency, honesty and accountability. Common tendency exists in distrusting green products and associated green marketing. It is due to a raising customer skepticism about such programs. It occurs as consumers may perceive those brands are over-exaggerating and misinforming green benefits. Companies may mislead consumers highly vague and false claims (greenwashing) with goal of profit maximization by capitalizing on customers’ environment concern (Guerreiro & Pacheco, 2021 ). In markets that are sensitive to environmental claims, scientists have been emphasizing the importance of green trust in influencing consumer choices. Green trust is the word used to characterize a consumer's confidence in a brand's sustainability, safety of its products, and environmental declarations. Green trust indicates customer confidence in environmental performance of specific product, service or brand (Guerreiro & Pacheco, 2021 ). Customers are more likely to believe what a business says and are more likely to buy it if they believe that the company is trustworthy in its environmentally friendly practices. The past research indicates that green trust lessens the perceived risk and uncertainty on the environmental claims, such that consumers feel safe when taking a product that supports their values (Chen & Chang, 2013 ). In this way, green trust does not only add credibility to the eco-sensitive claims, but also it is a decisive element that will encourage the customers to choose and buy green products (Chen et al., 2025 ). Consequently, the greater the levels of green trust, the greater the purchase decision, resulting in the fact that trust is a major driver in the transformation of environmental perception into the actual buying behavior. H 7 : Green trust has significantly positive relationship with the purchase decision of customer. Purchase Decision Purchase decision is final process of consumer decision making process where a person chooses and applies his/her self to purchase a product after evaluation of the information and subjective preferences. According to scholars like (Azhari et al., 2025 ), (Salah et al., 2024 ), purchase decisions are not influenced by product-related attributes, i.e., price, quality, and functionality, but also by psychological and social factors, i.e. attitudes, beliefs, trust and perceived value. Over the last several years, the increased environmental awareness has changed the purchasing behavior as the consumers have become more inclined to evaluate the purchasing behavior with respect to ethical and sustainability-related information. It has been discovered that consumers tend to buy more of the things that fit their personal value and perceived reduction of risk in particular cases when the brands have interesting and persuasive facts about the benefits of the products (Han, 2021 ). Moreover, brand trust, transparency, and authenticity have been established to contribute immensely to the confidence of customers, which in effect, promotes the willingness of customers to purchase a certain brand in preference of the other rival brands (Acikgoz et al., 2024 ). Thus, the decision on purchasing is a complicated combination of personal impressions and feelings, as well as brand-related factors, meaning that consumer decisions are not only transactional but are informed by both the rational and value-driven thought. Research Gap Eco-labels have been widely examined as cues that help consumers assess the environmental performance of products, and prior studies show that credible labels can positively influence green purchase intentions (Gorton et al., 2021 ). The studies within the cosmetic industry also show that consumers turn to environmental labels more to be able to navigate the issues of health, safety, and sustainability (Rocca et al., 2022 ). Much of this has however been done in the developed markets where the standards of labeling are well established and consumer awareness of environmental certification is reasonably high. A growing body of literature highlights that perceived authenticity of eco-labels is a critical factor shaping consumer trust and purchase decisions. (Yang et al., 2024 ) established that the consumers are more receptive to the eco-labels in cases where they feel that some certifying body is reputable and the statements can be confirmed. At the same time, (Keilmann & Koch, 2025 ) also highlight that authenticity leads to less skepticism and more confidence in the sustainability statements. Meanwhile, the concept of transparency, such as the clarity of the information, the disclosure of the criteria, and the availability of the certification information, have been demonstrated to increase the ability of the consumers to distinguish between authentic environmental labels and deceitful ones (Nguyen & Nguyen, 2025 ). However, these mechanisms have not been adequately studied in markets, where institutions pay less attention and therefore, greenwashing is more widespread. In South Asian contexts, existing studies suggest that consumers often face confusion due to inconsistent labeling practices and limited regulatory oversight (Hossain and Khan, 2021 ). Nepal, specifically, is showing a high rate of growth in the cosmetic sector, but the issue of eco-labeling is still disjointed, with the combination of global labels, in-country labels, and brand-related environmental assertions. Although it is clear that the Nepali consumers are becoming more conscious of the environment, very little empirical information is available that describes how the consumers measure the authenticity and transparency of eco-labels, as well as the effectiveness of such perceptions in shaping the purchase behavior. The majority of Nepali research to date on green marketing has meant general perceptions on environmental responsibility or green product perception, but not the cognitive evaluation of eco-label credibility in a particular product category. Thus, there is a distinct gap in the knowledge of the psychological and informational mechanisms, according to which the purchase decision in cosmetic products in Nepal is being formed by the eco-labels. In particular, the joint effect of perceived authenticity and perceived transparency, which are two of the core constructs in the credibility of eco-labels, has not been directly examined in the Nepali cosmetic market. The need to fill this gap is necessary in order to develop the academic knowledge and inform policy and industry practices in an environment where the consumer distrusts environmental claims in a steadily growing manner. Conceptual Framework The conceptual framework is formulated to identify conceptual relationship between the main constructs and inform the empirical analysis. Based on the available literature on eco-labelling cosmetic products, green marketing, eco-marketing, and consumer behavior, the framework puts perceived green authenticity and perceived green transparency as the main antecedent variables that affect the buying behavior of customers when making their choice of cosmetic products with eco labelling. Empirical evidence reveals that customers distrust the environment when they feel that the environment statement is untrustworthy and this declines their purchase decision (Persakis et al., 2025 ). Trust level of the customers is acts as a mediating variable so as to define the process by which these perceptions are turned into customer decision-making. It is commonly known that green trust has been broadly recognized as a significant mediating variable in the green marketing relationships. The empirical evidence shows that trust is a significant psychological process by which customers convert their perception of environmental activities into real purchasing activity. Increase in green trust has been demonstrated to greatly enhance the willingness of the consumers to be involved in purchasing of products and services that are environmentally friendly (Abubakari et al., 2025 ). The model shows both the direct variations of the independent variables on the purchase decision and indirect variation passed along the green trust. The subsequent diagram is the conjectured relations and will be conceptual foundations of the study. 3. Methodology The research approach adopted in this study follows a deductive approach. The research design adopted is a quantitative research design and the study was carried as a cross-sectional study with data being collected at a given point in time. The respective research context is the Pokhara Valley of Nepal, which is the state capital of Gandaki province of the country. The respondents include the users of cosmetic products in this area. Participants were selected using a convenience sampling method and 250 respondents were used to collect data. Structured questionnaire prepared after the extant review of the scales and constructs used in similar studies is the main data collection tool. The questionnaire has been divided into two parts: the first one includes demographic data, whereas the second measures the variables of the study using constructs based on the existing scales that have undergone validation in previous studies. The questionnaire is put across an online survey form to achieve accessibility and efficiency. Google form was used for online survey. To analyze the results, the data has been analyzed with the application of PLS-SEM using SmartPLS for analyzing relationship of the complex regression model. Also, MS Excel is used to organize the data, pre-process the data, and perform the additional analysis. The questionnaire’s accuracy was ensured through a pilot test with a small group of customers, who evaluated the clarity and readability of the items. At the beginning of the survey, respondents were provided with a short explanation of greenwashing and companies' environmental claims. It emphasized that some firms present themselves as eco-friendly without truly practicing sustainability. Feedback from experts was reviewed and incorporated before finalizing the questionnaire. Each of the constructs was measured using 7-point Likert scale where 1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree. According to the already developed previous research, the measurement items were retrieved and modified based on credible sources: a four -item scale of perceived green authenticity by (Fang, 2024 ); a three-item scale of perceived transparency by (Sansome et al., 2024 ); a eight -item scale of green trust by (Guerreiro & Pacheco, 2021 ) and seven-item scale of purchase decision by (Guerreiro & Pacheco, 2021 ). The questionnaire was credible as these validated measures were used. The finalized questionnaire consisted of three sections. First briefly introduced the study and explained constructs, along with a confidentiality and anonymity statement. The second section collected basic demographic information. The final section contained the measurement items for the study variables. The study adheres to principles stated in declaration of Helsinki for ethical considerations. As per the protocol stated in the Research Management Cell (RMC) Guidelines, School of Business, Pokhara University, ethical approval waiver is granted for research involving minimal risk. Accordingly, informed consent was received from respondents before data collection. The respondents were informed with clarity about the study purpose, data collection procedure, confidentiality and data anonymity. The participation in the study was voluntary and participants had right to withdraw from the survey at any time. No any personal identification information was collected. Data protection and respondent privacy was maintained following the ethical principles. 4. Analysis and Presentation Demographic Characteristics The demographic characteristics of participants of study are presented in Table 1 . The gender, age category of the respondents, qualification and marital status are examined. During the discussion of the gender, the majority of the sample size were females i.e. 66, 34% of the respondents were male. In this research, 40 percent of the total respondents with age category of 18–23 years were identified to have taken part in this research. Followed by age group 24–29 with 34.4 percent of total respondents, 14 percent among 30–35 age group and 11.6 percent are found to fall in age 36–39. The following part of table displays level of qualification of respondents. Bachelor's degree customers (54%) constituted majority (54% of respondents) of the customers who responded to the survey. 28 percent of respondents were with higher level education and 18 percent of the respondents were Master's degree holders. Through marital status of respondents, it was found out that 76% of the respondents were single with the rest being married. Table 1 Characteristics of Respondents Profile Categories No. of Respondents (n) % of total n Gender Male 85 34% Female 165 66% Age Group 18–23 100 40% 24–29 86 34.4% 30–35 35 14% 36–39 29 11.6% Education High School 70 28% Bachelor’s degree 136 54% Master’s degree 44 18% Marital Status Single 189 76% Married 61 24% Measurement Model The measurement model is used to examine the reliability and validity of constructs. The value of indicator reliability could be determined using the square of both outer loading. The findings of Smart PLS are shown in Table 2 , which show that the individual indicator reliability value of all the indicators is significantly bigger than the minimum required value of 0.4. (Hulland, 1999). The traditional tool of measuring internal consistency reliability is Cronbach's alpha. Table 2 depicts composite reliability scores are more than 0.6 which proves that there are high levels of internal consistency reliability in all the latent variables. In order to determine the convergent validity in framework of PLS-SEM, the comprehensive evaluation of Average Variance Extracted (AVE) of all constructs was conducted. All values of AVE are above the established value of 0.5, as demonstrated in Table 2 , which implies that the value used to index the observed indicators is significantly explained by the latent constructs underlying the measurements. This contributes towards convergent validity where it is established that the model is of the recommended standards where CR is above 0.70 and AVE above 0.50. Table 2 Items, Reliability, and Convergent Validity Variables SD Label |loading Items Cronbach's Alpha rho_A CR AVE Green Authenticity 0.03 AU1 |0.799 I am satisfied with the eco-friendly certifications or details shared by Cosmetic product on their products or website. 0.831 0.832 0.887 0.664 0.024 AU2|0.832 I feel Cosmetic product’s product labels and ads are backed by sufficient evidence and transparency. 0.024 AU3 |0.839 I am satisfied with how clear and informative Cosmetic product’s product labels and advertisements are. 0.03 AU4 | 0.787 I am satisfied with the certifications or proof Cosmetic product provides to support their claims. Perceived Transparency 0.027 TR1 | 0.822 I trust Cosmetic product’s customer support team to address concerns about their eco-friendly or natural claims effectively. 0.777 0.778 0.87 0.691 0.022 TR2 |0.855 I am confident that Cosmetic product keeps its promises about product quality and ingredients. 0.026 TR3 |0.817 I am more likely to purchase Cosmetic product products if they provide detailed information about the environmental impact of their production and packaging. Green Trust 0.04 GT1 |0.705 I am confident that cosmetic product's "natural" or "herbal" ingredient claims are accurate. 0.904 0.907 0.923 0.6 0.036 GT2 |0.765 I trust labels like "gentle" or "eco-friendly" on Cosmetic product products. 0.034 GT3 |0.757 I trust Cosmetic product’s claims about using eco-friendly and natural ingredients. 0.028 GT4 |0.781 Compared to other brands, I trust Cosmetic product when it comes to eco-friendly or natural claims. 0.037 GT5 |0.755 I feel Cosmetic product is honest about the ingredients they use in their products. 0.021 GT6 |0.822 I feel Cosmetic product’s eco-friendly claims are genuine, based on their marketing and actual practices. 0.03 GT7 |0.773 I feel Cosmetic product is transparent about their ingredients and eco-friendly practices. 0.021 GT8 |0.832 I feel confident that Cosmetic product actively works to improve its eco-friendly practices and communicates these improvements clearly. Purchase Decision 0.041 PD1 |0.728 Cosmetic product’s eco-friendly claims influence my decision to buy their products. 0.894 0.897 0.917 0.612 0.027 PD2 |0.789 Cosmetic product’s product labels and ads significantly affect my decision to purchase their products. 0.026 PD3 |0.828 Cosmetic product’s eco-friendly or natural claims strongly impact my decision to purchase their products. 0.032 PD4 |0.792 My trust in Cosmetic product’s claims influences my choice when buying their products. 0.033 PD6 |0.789 Eco-friendly or natural claims are important to me when deciding to buy Cosmetic product products. 0.031 PD7 |0.794 Green or natural claims are important to me when choosing Cosmetic product products. 0.038 PD8 |0.750 Natural wellness and traditional herbal expertise drive consumer preference for Cosmetic product products. After the confirmation of reliability, the discriminant as well as convergent validation of. the general measurement model was tested. AVE was used on evaluating convergent and discriminant validity, which is given in Tables 1 and 2 . As all AVE values are greater than 0.5, it confirms a strong support of convergent validity, strengthening validity and reliability of the proposed model (Fornell and Larker, 1981). Table 2 reveals that the square root of the mean variance extracted by each construct exceeded the correlations of constructs. Higher correlation of construct with measurement items as against other constructs, it is a sign that that particular construct is propensity to predict the interested latent construct regarding others latent constructs. This is the result which ascertains the measure good discriminant validity of model. Table 3 Discriminant Validity Green trust Authenticity Transparency Purchase Decision Green trust 0.775 Authenticity 0.871 0.815 Transparency 0.858 0.783 0.831 Purchase Decision 0.774 0.745 0.816 0.782 Another method of discriminant validation involves the comparison of square root of AVE of each construct and values of correlation among the constructs, as suggested by Hair et al. (2019). When square root of AVE is higher than the other values of correlation, it implies discriminant validity. All of the constructs in Table 2 share or almost the same amount of AVE but Transparency has AVE value of 0.691 which is higher than other correlations among constructs and this confirms its strong establishment. Structural Model When the research proceeds from measurement to structural model, focus shifts on analysis of relationships among the constructs as hypothesized using path diagram. The structural model diagram is depicted in Fig. 2 . Structural model was also evaluated along with the measurement model to test the hypotheses put forward. The hypotheses were tested in a progression. The first was an assessment of direct relationships between the latent variables- Perceived Authenticity (AU), Perceived Transparency (TR), Green Trust (GT), and Purchase Decision (PD). Direct paths significance was estimated using bootstrap resampling technique with 5,000 resamples (Ringle et al., 2005) to estimate standard errors. Path coefficients of the structural model show the size of each relationship. The direct associations between the independent, mediating and dependent variables are summarized as shown in Table 4 . The findings indicate that there is an insignificant relationship between Green Trust (GT) and Purchase Decision (PD) (β0.116, 0.282); therefore, the hypothesis that there is a significant relationship between the two is rejected. But the rest of the direct relationships were all statistically significant. In particular, Perceived Authenticity (AU) has a significant effect on Green Trust (GT) (β 0.514, 0.000) and Purchase Decision (PD) (β0.275, 0.000). In the same way, Green Trust (GT) has significant effect on Perceived Transparency (TR) (β0.456, 0.000) and Purchase Decision (PD) has significant effect on Green Trust (GT) (β0.601, 0.000). Table 4 Model Path Coefficients (Direct Relationships) Relationship Beta Sample Mean (M) Standard Deviation (STDEV) T-Value P Values Decision H7 GT -> PD 0.116 0.115 0.107 1.075 0.282 Unsupported H3 AU -> GT 0.514 0.515 0.051 10.128 0.000 Supported H1 AU -> PD 0.275 0.278 0.073 3.774 0.000 Supported H6 TR -> GT 0.456 0.456 0.049 9.256 0.000 Supported H4 TR -> PD 0.601 0.598 0.064 9.427 0.000 Supported SRMR (Estimated model) = 0.062 R-squared: Green Trust = 0.839; Purchase Intention = 0.697 Table 5 Model Path Coefficients (Indirect Relationships) Indirect Path Path Beta Path Beta Mediation Effect Beta T-Value P- Value Decision H2 AU-GT 0.514 GT-PD 0.116 0.059 1.075 0.282 Unsupported H5 TR-GT 0.456 GT-PD 0.116 0.053 1.049 0.294 Unsupported The results of indirect effects of Perceived Authenticity (AU) as well as Perceived Transparency (TR) on Purchase Decision (PD) with mediating variable Green Trust (GT) can be found in Table 5 . The findings show that the mediating effect of Green Trust over the association between Perceived Authenticity and Purchase Decision is not significant (β0.514, 0.282). Similarly, the Green Trust nuclear effect on Perceived Transparency to Purchase Decision is also not significant (β0.456, 0.294). F 2 was used to measure the effect size, which showed practical value of model. Rules of assessing F 2 imply that 0.02, 0.15 and 0.024 respectively imply that these are minor, and moderately significant effects of the exogenous unobserved variable (Cohen, 2013). In order to test model adequacy Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR) as indicated in Table 4 is used. A good fit is taken to be represented by values less than 0.10, which go down to 0.08 in a conservative interpretation (Hair Jr et al., 2021). There is a positive SRMR of 0.062 in the model. So, the SRMR value indicates that model of estimation has sufficiently explained a large share of the variability of data. Coefficient of Determination (R 2 ) values depict proportion of variance in endogenous construct explained by exogenous constructs (Chin, 1998 ). Table 4 shows that around 69.7 percent of variation in endogenous construct purchase decision is explained by exogenous constructs included in the model. Similarly, around 83.9 percent of variation in green trust is explained by the model. The values indicate that model has sufficient explanatory power. Table 6 Predictive Relevance (Q 2 ) SSO SSE Q² (= 1-SSE/SSO) Green Trust 2000 1006.64 0.497 Perceived Authenticity 1000 1000 Perceived Transparency 750 750 Purchase Decision 1750 1015.495 0.42 Q 2 by Stone-Geisser is among the metric which can be useful in assessing fitness of structural model. Positive value indicates the capability of the model of predicting the omitted variable and the higher the value the better prediction (Geisser, 1974). A value of greater than 0.2 is usually regarded as a good predictive relevance. The values of Q2 in Table 6 are positive (Q2 > 0.2), therefore, it can be argued that the model has a good fit. 5. Discussion This study examines the use of eco-labeling in cosmetic products and explores how customers perceive the information conveyed through these labels, as well as how such perceptions influence their purchase intentions and behaviors. With raising green consumerism in recent periods and concerns about sustainable business practices, products and services offered are adopting ecological and environmentally friendly features. It is a part of their value proposition and also supports in remaining competitive in the market. Customers who are environmentally conscious are paying more attention towards authenticity of the environmental claims made by products during their purchase decision. The global phenomena of increased awareness and concern of product make up and its environmental footprint among customers in on raise (Contini et al., 2020 ). In this context, this study attempts to investigate the influence of the constructs perceived green authenticity and perceived transparency on consumers’ purchase decisions. Additionally, the mediating role of trust in the relationship has also been analyzed. The study results offer significant practical implications regarding the effects of eco-labeling information on the buying behavior of consumers in the cosmetic sector with focus on how the behavior is influenced by perceived authenticity, perceived transparency, and green trust. The study results reveal a number of interesting patterns which are important in increased understanding of consumer behavior toward environmentally labeled products. The study findings depict that perceived green authenticity and perceived transparency have significant and positive effect on both green trust and purchase decision. The results are in corroboration with prior some studies (Fang, 2024 ; Fu et al., 2022 ; Islam et al., 2024 ) which have also shown that purchase intention and degree of trust among the customers are influenced by the authenticity and transparency created by business firms. It implies that consumers are more likely to develop belief in and buy cosmetic products bearing eco-labels in circumstances where environmental claims made are authentic and supplemented by providing information which is transparent and open. This is in line with previous literature which also find that in a sustainable marketing environment, authenticity and transparency are key antecedents of consumer trust and purchase intention (Chen, 2010; Parguel et al., 2011). In contrary to prior studies, relationship between green trust and purchase decision found to be insignificant. This finding indicates that the trust in green labeling factor may not necessarily influence buying decision in case of cosmetics products. Consumers may believe in the green label and what the product is saying about environmental considerations. Other factors such as brand familiarity, product efficacy, aesthetics may assert higher influence in purchase decision. This observation is consistent with few prior research (Suki, 2016; Kang & Hustvedt, 2014) which also emphasize the role of trust as a necessary but not sufficient element of purchase behavior. Specially in situations when it is not supported by perception of value or emotional attachment. The mediating effect of green trust in relationship between perceived authenticity, perceived transparency and purchase decision was also found to be insignificant. The result reveals that although authenticity and transparency can build trust but the trust may not be sufficient to induce purchase decision in customers of cosmetics products. The reason may be consumers can view eco-labels on cosmetic products as an added moral attribute but not a fundamental factor for making buying decisions. To state briefly, while green trust improves favorable brand image it may not be a strong factor enough to neutralize more concrete product attributes such as quality, functionality or price. Hence, the study findings indicate that there is direct relationship between authenticity and transparency with purchase decision but not indirectly through trust. Therefore, the findings imply that it is important for cosmetic brands to provide credible information on environmental issues and be fair and honest in disclosure of their sustainability initiatives. Business firms need to ensure that information given in eco-labels should be verifiable Firms must thus make sure that the information featured in eco-labels is verifiable and be in accordance with the brand identity. This may likely boost consumer confidence and buying intentions even in cases where trust element is low or missing. Overall, despite the theoretical significance of trust it has not mediating effect in this study. It implies that the consumer response to eco-labels in cosmetic products are more cognitively and perceptually influenced due to the role played by perceived authenticity and transparency of product information. The results contribute to the increasing body of green marketing research. It suggests that sustainable buying behavior of consumers in the cosmetic products in the context of developing economies may not depend on development of trust in the long term but on immediate impressions of credibility and openness that is conveyed via eco-labeling. 6. Conclusion and Recommendations This study examined the influence of eco-labeling information on consumers’ purchase decisions of cosmetic products in context of a developing country. It focused on the roles of perceived green authenticity and perceived transparency on purchase decision. Additionally, the mediating effect of green trust on the relationship was also analyzed. Study results depict that both perceived authenticity and perceived transparency positive and significant effect on green trust and directly affect consumers’ purchase decisions. However, green trust was insignificant in influencing purchase decision and it didn’t have mediating effect on role of authenticity and trust in facilitating purchase decision. To conclude, the results suggest that consumers’ purchasing behavior toward eco-labeled cosmetic products is primarily driven by their perceptions of how authentic and transparent the provided environmental information is. In other words, consumers are more likely to respond more to the clarity and credibility of green claims than to the emotional trust developed towards the brand. While green trust contributes to a positive brand image, it may not alone drive purchase decisions in the cosmetic sector. The purchase decision in the sector may be more influenced by sensory experience, product performance, and personal preferences. The findings of this study provide several practical contributions for marketers, brand managers, and policymakers in the cosmetic industry. They offer implications for enhancing consumer engagement with eco-labeled products. The results highlight that perceived authenticity and transparency play decisive role in influencing consumer purchase decisions than green trust. This insight offers important implications for cosmetic companies in developing effective sustainability communication and marketing strategies. 7. Implications The study findings have several implications. Theoretically, this study contributes to the growing literature on green marketing and consumer behavior by highlighting that authenticity and transparency function are important predictors of purchase decision. In a developing country context like Nepal, this study offers greater understanding of green marketing and eco-labelling. It emphasizes importance of perceptual constructs in understanding how eco-label information is processed by customers. Practically the study suggests that cosmetic companies should focus on authenticity of environmental claims. The claims should synchronize with their stated values and actual business practices. Transparent and verifiable communication is important in lowering consumer skepticism and enhancing brand credibility. Eco-labels should be supported by genuine environmental actions such as sustainable sourcing and ethical production. They should not be used as promotional symbols. This study emphasizes importance of green transparency as a competitive advantage. Firms are encouraged to disclose detailed and understandable information about their sustainability performance. Openness builds confidence among environmentally conscious consumers and also differentiates brands in a crowded cosmetic market. The results suggest that marketing efforts should focus in creating customer awareness in eco-labeling. Awareness of eco-label standards and certification processes can support customers in making informed purchase decisions. Finally, the study also provides implications for policymakers and certification bodies. It raises the need to standardize eco-labeling systems and ensure monitoring of environmental claims. Reliable and transparent labeling frameworks can enhance public confidence in green marketing. It will benefit both consumers and responsible businesses. 8. Directions for Future Researchers The study is cross-sectional in nature. Hence, causal inferences should be made cautiously. Future studies can use longitudinal design to establish causality and focus on larger sample sizes. It may also be used to examine how consumer trust in eco-labels changes with time. This study focuses on cosmetic products only. Cross-industry comparison of effect of eco-labels on customer purchase decision can aid in understanding of industry-wide differences in the phenomena. Furthermore, the inclusion of other psychological and behavioral factors such as perceived value, hedonic motivation etc. may yield a better explanation of the effectiveness of eco-labels. This study is quantitative in nature. Qualitative studies should be undertaken to draw rich and insightful meanings on how customers experience eco-labels. Declarations Funding: The authors received no funding for this research study. Clinical trial number: Not applicable Data Availability Statement: Data will be made available upon request to the corresponding author stating a valid reason. Informed consent statement: Informed consent was taken from respondents. Respondents were informed about the study's purpose and they voluntarily agreed to participate. Disclosure of interest statement; No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors. Consent to Publish: Not applicable Ethics declaration: The study complies with principles stated in Declaration of Helsinki for ethical considerations. As per the protocol stated in the Research Management Cell (RMC) Guidelines, School of Business, Pokhara University, ethical approval waiver is granted for research involving minimal risk. The link for the guidelines is mentioned below. https://admin.pusob.edu.np/images/publication/publication1765542665.pdf Authors' contributions - Credit: UA & USY: Conception and design of the study, Methodology, Visualization, writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing; TD, SB & RLP: Methodology, Editing, Supervision, Validation and Review. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Acknowledgements: The authors would like to express their sincere gratitude for the valuable and constructive feedback provided by the reviewers and the journal editor throughout the review process. References Abubakari A, Majeed M, Amoako GK, Ofori KS, Ampong GOA. Going green, paying more: the relationship between trust in green labeling, green perceived value and price premiums. Int J Qual Service Sci. 2025;17(3):381–404. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJQSS-09-2023-0132 . Acikgoz FY, Kayakuş M, Zăbavă B-Ș, Kabas O. 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Transparency as a Trust Catalyst: How Self-Disclosure Strategies Reshape Consumer Perceptions of Unhealthy Food Brands on Digital Platforms. J Theoretical Appl Electron Commer Res. 2025;20(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/jtaer20020133 . Suphasomboon T, Vassanadumrongdee S. Toward sustainable consumption of green cosmetics and personal care products: The role of perceived value and ethical concern. Sustainable Prod Consum. 2022;33:230–43. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2022.07.004 . Yang J, Battocchio AF. Effects of transparent brand communication on perceived brand authenticity and consumer responses. J Prod Brand Manage. 2020;30(8):1176–93. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-03-2020-2803 . Yang Y, Xue F, Qiao G. The impact of information acquisition ability on consumers’ trust in eco-labels in China: insight of food sustainability. Front Sustainable Food Syst. 2024;8–2024. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2024.1449848 . Zhang N, Guo M, Bu X, Jin C. Understanding green loyalty: A literature review based on bibliometric-content analysis. Heliyon. 2023;9(7):e18029. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e18029 . Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 06 Mar, 2026 Reviews received at journal 31 Jan, 2026 Reviews received at journal 28 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 18 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 17 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 16 Jan, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 16 Jan, 2026 Editor invited by journal 01 Jan, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 21 Dec, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 21 Dec, 2025 First submitted to journal 21 Dec, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eIn the few last years, a substantial increase in the environmental awareness of the masses across the globe, heightened the worries regarding the matter of burning global problems like the climate change, environmental degradation, pollution, and unhealthy usage of resources. Sustainable development has attracted much interest in countries, both producers and consumers call on the need to become environmental responsible. It has led to a paradigm shift where production and consumption of ecological or green products have developed to be a primary focus of modern business practices and consumerism as a signifier of a shared vision of the more sustainable future.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConsumers are currently becoming more interested in patronizing products and services that conform to environmental and social values. Some of them even pay a price premium to products that they believe to be a contributor to environmental conservation, and social responsibility (Zhang et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e). This increased necessity has intensified the proliferation of green markets in different businesses, food, fashion, and more so cosmetics. As a result, enterprises have reacted to this trend by marketing themselves as environmentally friendly, integrating sustainable business methods, adopting green technologies, and gaining eco-labels and similar certification.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEco-labels are important communication tools that enable consumers to have information on the environmental attributes of a product thus making informed decisions when buying the product. These labels are often issued by the accredited bodies or authorities and act as official affirmations that a product or service is of a certain quality as per the set standards of environmental standards. Using eco-labels increases transparency and helps bridge the gap between producers and consumers. It develops trust and encourages responsible consumption (Li, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e). However, the concerns regarding greenwashing which are exaggerated claims about environment is causing serious concerns. Such manipulative actions can mislead consumers and negatively impact their belief in truly sustainable brands (Buratto \u0026amp; Lotti, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIncreased discourse in global level regarding sustainability has drawn attention towards environmental considerations. The issue is forefront in political, scientific, and societal agendas (Perret et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e). Growing awareness has significantly impacted consumer behavior. It has led to increased demand for items that conform to environmentally sustainable principles (Simo et al., 2022; Suphasomboon \u0026amp; Vassanadumrongdee, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). The phenomena is also prevalent in cosmetic products. Consumers are becoming more perceptive about the ingredients used in cosmetic and environmental issues (Adil et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). The change in consumer behavior has increased importance of eco-labeling. It is an essential tool for firms to convey their dedication to sustainability. It directly affects consumer perceptions of product legitimacy and effectiveness (Simao et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). The growth of \"natural claims\" on cosmetic packaging seeks to capitalize on shifting consumer values. However, its actual influence on purchase intentions is a difficult subject of investigation. Moreover, such claims often capitalize on the \"natural-is-better\" bias. But the impact of perceived authenticity of such cognitive heuristics needs additional examination (Simo et al., 2022).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe concern for environmental sustainability has received a lot of attention in cosmetic industry too. It has occurred due to growing global concern regarding the natural resources, chemicals used by the industry and waste production. Ecologically aware consumers are becoming more sensitive to the ecological footprint of cosmetic products and the truthfulness of sustainability statements of producers. With increasing awareness and education level, consumers are becoming more discerning and they want to see through product labeling and marketing messages and require transparency and authenticity. Cosmetic companies have responded by increasing their activities in promoting products as eco-friendly, and they most commonly have eco-labels as the tool of delivering environmental credibility. But claims that are not authentic, transparent, should be too dangerous as they may destroy consumer trust, which is an important factor that is hard to regain once the damage is created.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo companies, this dynamism highlights the role of integrity in green marketing. Although the short-term financial benefits of false environmental claims might be high, there are ways in which they have severe effects on the reputation and long-term sustainability of a company. Organizations are therefore required to make sure that their environmental claims are authentic, verifiable and transparent. To build and sustain consumer confidence in green products and brands, it is necessary to understand how they view such claims.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAlthough the current literatures on green marketing have continued to expand, little has been done on perceptions of consumers about the authenticity and transparency of eco-labeling especially regarding the impacts of the two on purchasing behavior in the cosmetic market. Customers should have access to robust and transparent information to determine whether the environmental and social benefits of eco-labeled products are delivered. Distrust and diminished efficiency of eco-labels as a means of sustainable consumption may arise because of a lack of transparency or authenticity (Schiaroli et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study aims exploring effect of perceived authenticity and transparency of eco-labeling on the buying actions of consumers towards the purchase of cosmetic products. Besides, the study aims at exploring the mediating effect of green trust in this relationship. Investigating these interconnections, the study can be very useful to marketers, policymakers and business enterprises who may aim at achieving sustainable consumption habits, consumer confidence, and improving the quality of eco-labelling systems in the new green economy. This study also tries to further integrate existing research on eco-labeling in cosmetic items, examining its complex effects on consumer perceived authenticity and consequent purchasing decisions, specifically regarding natural claims and their related biases.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"2. Literature Review, Hypothesis Development and Research Framework","content":"\u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eEnvironmental knowledge\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEnvironmental knowledge and awareness of customers makes them conscious of the environmental impact of products. It builds more informed attitude toward ecological issues. The level of their awareness affects their buying choices. The result directs them in purchasing green items. Environmental knowledge refers to an individual\u0026rsquo;s conceptual understanding of causes and effects of environmental issues. It also informs them about actions necessary for addressing them. It also includes information collection on aspects of environmental issues and becoming aware of collective responsibilities needed for green consumerism. Greater knowledge on environmental issues promotes positive attitude towards the issue. It consequently influences green consumption intention and customer behavior.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eEco-labelling\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGreen labels also termed as eco-labels refers to symbols or logos on product packaging which communicates environmental friendliness (Sharma \u0026amp; Kushwaha, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). Morgan and Hunt (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1994\u003c/span\u003e) define trust as \u0026ldquo;when one party has confidence in an exchange partner\u0026rsquo;s reliability and integrity.\u0026rdquo; This study conceptually defines trust in green labels as confidence of customers in reliability and integrity of eco-labeling. Signaling theory argues that customers rely on visible cues offered by eco-labels in assessing product attributes to assess authenticity (Berger, 2019). Eco-level offer signals on environmental benefits of green products. Customers tend to perceive authenticity after they trust credibility of these labels.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eGreen Authenticity\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAuthenticity refers to credibility of a business organization. It is demonstrated when its claims and promises are truthful. Green authenticity denotes the sustainability efforts of organizations that are actually practiced. The practice should be free from misleading or false claims. It is significant in contexts where consumers are frequently exposed to brand advertisements. Consumers favor environmentally friendly brands over non-green alternatives. Therefore, many companies promote their operations as environmentally sustainable. But such claims can create uncertainty among consumers regarding whether such claims true. It may also be an attempt to enhance green image. In cosmetic industry, authentic green branding has been shown to strongly influence individuals\u0026rsquo; perceptions.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAccording to the study conducted by Hanhim\u0026auml;ki, (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e), authenticity, honesty, transparency, and quality were found to be significant factors influencing consumer trust. The study of Aswar, (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e) also support it with the finding educational level and authenticity of brand influences green trust as well as purchase decisions. This perspective is supported by a systematic literature review. Moreover, (Sodergren, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e) review highlights three key thematic dimensions of authenticity: the distinguishing features that separate the genuine from the false, the legitimizing role of authenticity as well as moral aspects of authentication. Based on this discussion, following hypotheses are proposed:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eH\u003c/em\u003e \u003csub\u003e \u003cem\u003e1\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/sub\u003e: \u003cem\u003ePerceived green authenticity has positive relationship with purchase decision of customer.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eH\u003c/em\u003e \u003csub\u003e \u003cem\u003e2\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/sub\u003e: \u003cem\u003eGreen trust mediates relationship between perceived green authenticity and purchase decision.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eH\u003c/em\u003e \u003csub\u003e \u003cem\u003e3\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/sub\u003e: \u003cem\u003ePerceived green authenticity has positive relationship with green trust\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eGreen Transparency\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePerceived green transparency is seen to be the degree of consumer belief that the company shares truthful, full and verifiable information about its environmental performance, product composition and sustainability performance. Previous studies indicate that consumers are more prone to make a positive assessment regarding the brand in case the firms advertise the environmental information publicly, i.e., via apparent labeling, certification, and conspicuous sustainability reporting (Herbes et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). As a result of transparent communication, the information asymmetry and uncertainty are minimized and consumers can evaluate whether the green claims are authentic or just marketing messages. Thus, the perceived green transparency positively influences the decision of consumers to buy a product because transparency raises the confidence level and predisposes the customers to making a choice in favor of the products that do not contradict the environmental values of consumers (Liu et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTransparency is also important in determining the green trust which is the belief that clients have on the environmental commitments and claims of a brand. Research has shown that by displaying verifiable environmental performance, including believable eco-certifications, ingredient disclosure, as well as sustainability reporting, consumers become confident of the authenticity of green claims. On the other hand, unclear or unprovable environmental messages bring about suspicion and diminish trust (Sneideriene \u0026amp; Legenzova, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e). Therefore, goodwill in the integrity of a brand is led through the transparent reporting of green practices.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMoreover, green trust is a mediating factor between the green transparency and the purchase decisions of the customers. Consumers would not mind transparency, but it is the sense of trust that will change perceptions of transparency to the intention to purchase (Sun et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e). Transparency increases perceived risks minimization, trust, and purchase intention are more likely to be acted upon after customers believe that the brand is committed to the environment and is more likely to act (J. Yang \u0026amp; Battocchio, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). The trust transforms information into action by enhancing the reliability of green assertions and diminishes skepticism about product functionality or other authenticity. Green trust, therefore, steps between the perceived transparency and purchase decision.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eH\u003c/em\u003e \u003csub\u003e \u003cem\u003e4\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/sub\u003e: \u003cem\u003ePerceived green transparency has significantly positive relationship with the purchase decision of customer.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eH\u003c/em\u003e \u003csub\u003e \u003cem\u003e5\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/sub\u003e: \u003cem\u003eGreen trust mediates relationship between perceived green transparency and purchase decision.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eH\u003c/em\u003e \u003csub\u003e \u003cem\u003e6\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/sub\u003e: \u003cem\u003ePerceived green transparency has significantly positive relationship with green trust.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eGreen Trust\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTrust in company and its products is essential for establishing long-term relations with stakeholders. For it, companies need to demonstrate consistency, honesty and accountability. Common tendency exists in distrusting green products and associated green marketing. It is due to a raising customer skepticism about such programs. It occurs as consumers may perceive those brands are over-exaggerating and misinforming green benefits. Companies may mislead consumers highly vague and false claims (greenwashing) with goal of profit maximization by capitalizing on customers\u0026rsquo; environment concern (Guerreiro \u0026amp; Pacheco, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn markets that are sensitive to environmental claims, scientists have been emphasizing the importance of green trust in influencing consumer choices. Green trust is the word used to characterize a consumer's confidence in a brand's sustainability, safety of its products, and environmental declarations. Green trust indicates customer confidence in environmental performance of specific product, service or brand (Guerreiro \u0026amp; Pacheco, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). Customers are more likely to believe what a business says and are more likely to buy it if they believe that the company is trustworthy in its environmentally friendly practices. The past research indicates that green trust lessens the perceived risk and uncertainty on the environmental claims, such that consumers feel safe when taking a product that supports their values (Chen \u0026amp; Chang, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e). In this way, green trust does not only add credibility to the eco-sensitive claims, but also it is a decisive element that will encourage the customers to choose and buy green products (Chen et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e). Consequently, the greater the levels of green trust, the greater the purchase decision, resulting in the fact that trust is a major driver in the transformation of environmental perception into the actual buying behavior.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eH\u003c/em\u003e \u003csub\u003e \u003cem\u003e7\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/sub\u003e: \u003cem\u003eGreen trust has significantly positive relationship with the purchase decision of customer.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003ePurchase Decision\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePurchase decision is final process of consumer decision making process where a person chooses and applies his/her self to purchase a product after evaluation of the information and subjective preferences. According to scholars like (Azhari et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e), (Salah et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e), purchase decisions are not influenced by product-related attributes, i.e., price, quality, and functionality, but also by psychological and social factors, i.e. attitudes, beliefs, trust and perceived value. Over the last several years, the increased environmental awareness has changed the purchasing behavior as the consumers have become more inclined to evaluate the purchasing behavior with respect to ethical and sustainability-related information. It has been discovered that consumers tend to buy more of the things that fit their personal value and perceived reduction of risk in particular cases when the brands have interesting and persuasive facts about the benefits of the products (Han, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMoreover, brand trust, transparency, and authenticity have been established to contribute immensely to the confidence of customers, which in effect, promotes the willingness of customers to purchase a certain brand in preference of the other rival brands (Acikgoz et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). Thus, the decision on purchasing is a complicated combination of personal impressions and feelings, as well as brand-related factors, meaning that consumer decisions are not only transactional but are informed by both the rational and value-driven thought.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eResearch Gap\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEco-labels have been widely examined as cues that help consumers assess the environmental performance of products, and prior studies show that credible labels can positively influence green purchase intentions (Gorton et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). The studies within the cosmetic industry also show that consumers turn to environmental labels more to be able to navigate the issues of health, safety, and sustainability (Rocca et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). Much of this has however been done in the developed markets where the standards of labeling are well established and consumer awareness of environmental certification is reasonably high.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA growing body of literature highlights that perceived authenticity of eco-labels is a critical factor shaping consumer trust and purchase decisions. (Yang et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e) established that the consumers are more receptive to the eco-labels in cases where they feel that some certifying body is reputable and the statements can be confirmed. At the same time, (Keilmann \u0026amp; Koch, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e) also highlight that authenticity leads to less skepticism and more confidence in the sustainability statements. Meanwhile, the concept of transparency, such as the clarity of the information, the disclosure of the criteria, and the availability of the certification information, have been demonstrated to increase the ability of the consumers to distinguish between authentic environmental labels and deceitful ones (Nguyen \u0026amp; Nguyen, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e). However, these mechanisms have not been adequately studied in markets, where institutions pay less attention and therefore, greenwashing is more widespread.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn South Asian contexts, existing studies suggest that consumers often face confusion due to inconsistent labeling practices and limited regulatory oversight (Hossain and Khan, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). Nepal, specifically, is showing a high rate of growth in the cosmetic sector, but the issue of eco-labeling is still disjointed, with the combination of global labels, in-country labels, and brand-related environmental assertions. Although it is clear that the Nepali consumers are becoming more conscious of the environment, very little empirical information is available that describes how the consumers measure the authenticity and transparency of eco-labels, as well as the effectiveness of such perceptions in shaping the purchase behavior. The majority of Nepali research to date on green marketing has meant general perceptions on environmental responsibility or green product perception, but not the cognitive evaluation of eco-label credibility in a particular product category.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThus, there is a distinct gap in the knowledge of the psychological and informational mechanisms, according to which the purchase decision in cosmetic products in Nepal is being formed by the eco-labels. In particular, the joint effect of perceived authenticity and perceived transparency, which are two of the core constructs in the credibility of eco-labels, has not been directly examined in the Nepali cosmetic market. The need to fill this gap is necessary in order to develop the academic knowledge and inform policy and industry practices in an environment where the consumer distrusts environmental claims in a steadily growing manner.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eConceptual Framework\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe conceptual framework is formulated to identify conceptual relationship between the main constructs and inform the empirical analysis. Based on the available literature on eco-labelling cosmetic products, green marketing, eco-marketing, and consumer behavior, the framework puts perceived green authenticity and perceived green transparency as the main antecedent variables that affect the buying behavior of customers when making their choice of cosmetic products with eco labelling. Empirical evidence reveals that customers distrust the environment when they feel that the environment statement is untrustworthy and this declines their purchase decision (Persakis et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e). Trust level of the customers is acts as a mediating variable so as to define the process by which these perceptions are turned into customer decision-making. It is commonly known that green trust has been broadly recognized as a significant mediating variable in the green marketing relationships. The empirical evidence shows that trust is a significant psychological process by which customers convert their perception of environmental activities into real purchasing activity. Increase in green trust has been demonstrated to greatly enhance the willingness of the consumers to be involved in purchasing of products and services that are environmentally friendly (Abubakari et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e). The model shows both the direct variations of the independent variables on the purchase decision and indirect variation passed along the green trust. The subsequent diagram is the conjectured relations and will be conceptual foundations of the study.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"3. Methodology","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe research approach adopted in this study follows a deductive approach. The research design adopted is a quantitative research design and the study was carried as a cross-sectional study with data being collected at a given point in time. The respective research context is the Pokhara Valley of Nepal, which is the state capital of Gandaki province of the country. The respondents include the users of cosmetic products in this area. Participants were selected using a convenience sampling method and 250 respondents were used to collect data. Structured questionnaire prepared after the extant review of the scales and constructs used in similar studies is the main data collection tool. The questionnaire has been divided into two parts: the first one includes demographic data, whereas the second measures the variables of the study using constructs based on the existing scales that have undergone validation in previous studies. The questionnaire is put across an online survey form to achieve accessibility and efficiency. Google form was used for online survey. To analyze the results, the data has been analyzed with the application of PLS-SEM using SmartPLS for analyzing relationship of the complex regression model. Also, MS Excel is used to organize the data, pre-process the data, and perform the additional analysis.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe questionnaire\u0026rsquo;s accuracy was ensured through a pilot test with a small group of customers, who evaluated the clarity and readability of the items. At the beginning of the survey, respondents were provided with a short explanation of greenwashing and companies' environmental claims. It emphasized that some firms present themselves as eco-friendly without truly practicing sustainability. Feedback from experts was reviewed and incorporated before finalizing the questionnaire. Each of the constructs was measured using 7-point Likert scale where 1\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;strongly disagree to 7\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;strongly agree. According to the already developed previous research, the measurement items were retrieved and modified based on credible sources: a four -item scale of perceived green authenticity by (Fang, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e); a three-item scale of perceived transparency by (Sansome et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e); a eight -item scale of green trust by (Guerreiro \u0026amp; Pacheco, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e) and seven-item scale of purchase decision by (Guerreiro \u0026amp; Pacheco, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). The questionnaire was credible as these validated measures were used.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe finalized questionnaire consisted of three sections. First briefly introduced the study and explained constructs, along with a confidentiality and anonymity statement. The second section collected basic demographic information. The final section contained the measurement items for the study variables.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e The study adheres to principles stated in declaration of Helsinki for ethical considerations. As per the protocol stated in the Research Management Cell (RMC) Guidelines, School of Business, Pokhara University, ethical approval waiver is granted for research involving minimal risk. Accordingly, informed consent was received from respondents before data collection. The respondents were informed with clarity about the study purpose, data collection procedure, confidentiality and data anonymity. The participation in the study was voluntary and participants had right to withdraw from the survey at any time. No any personal identification information was collected. Data protection and respondent privacy was maintained following the ethical principles.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"4. Analysis and Presentation","content":"\u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eDemographic Characteristics\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe demographic characteristics of participants of study are presented in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e. The gender, age category of the respondents, qualification and marital status are examined. During the discussion of the gender, the majority of the sample size were females i.e. 66, 34% of the respondents were male. In this research, 40 percent of the total respondents with age category of 18\u0026ndash;23 years were identified to have taken part in this research. Followed by age group 24\u0026ndash;29 with 34.4 percent of total respondents, 14 percent among 30\u0026ndash;35 age group and 11.6 percent are found to fall in age 36\u0026ndash;39.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe following part of table displays level of qualification of respondents. Bachelor's degree customers (54%) constituted majority (54% of respondents) of the customers who responded to the survey. 28 percent of respondents were with higher level education and 18 percent of the respondents were Master's degree holders. Through marital status of respondents, it was found out that 76% of the respondents were single with the rest being married.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eCharacteristics of Respondents\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProfile\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCategories\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo. of Respondents (n)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e% of total n\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eGender\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMale\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e85\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e34%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFemale\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e165\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e66%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAge Group\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18\u0026ndash;23\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e100\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e40%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e24\u0026ndash;29\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e86\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e34.4%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30\u0026ndash;35\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e35\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e36\u0026ndash;39\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e29\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.6%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEducation\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHigh School\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e28%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBachelor\u0026rsquo;s degree\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e136\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e54%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMaster\u0026rsquo;s degree\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e44\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMarital Status\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSingle\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e189\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e76%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMarried\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e61\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e24%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eMeasurement Model\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe measurement model is used to examine the reliability and validity of constructs. The value of indicator reliability could be determined using the square of both outer loading. The findings of Smart PLS are shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e, which show that the individual indicator reliability value of all the indicators is significantly bigger than the minimum required value of 0.4. (Hulland, 1999). The traditional tool of measuring internal consistency reliability is Cronbach's alpha. Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e depicts composite reliability scores are more than 0.6 which proves that there are high levels of internal consistency reliability in all the latent variables.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn order to determine the convergent validity in framework of PLS-SEM, the comprehensive evaluation of Average Variance Extracted (AVE) of all constructs was conducted. All values of AVE are above the established value of 0.5, as demonstrated in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e, which implies that the value used to index the observed indicators is significantly explained by the latent constructs underlying the measurements. This contributes towards convergent validity where it is established that the model is of the recommended standards where CR is above 0.70 and AVE above 0.50.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eItems, Reliability, and Convergent Validity\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"8\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVariables\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSD\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLabel |loading\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eItems\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCronbach's Alpha\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003erho_A\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCR\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAVE\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGreen Authenticity\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.03\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAU1 |0.799\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI am satisfied with the eco-friendly certifications or details shared by Cosmetic product on their products or website.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.831\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.832\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.887\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.664\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.024\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAU2|0.832\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI feel Cosmetic product\u0026rsquo;s product labels and ads are backed by sufficient evidence and transparency.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.024\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAU3 |0.839\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI am satisfied with how clear and informative Cosmetic product\u0026rsquo;s product labels and advertisements are.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.03\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAU4 | 0.787\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI am satisfied with the certifications or proof Cosmetic product provides to support their claims.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePerceived Transparency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.027\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTR1 | 0.822\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI trust Cosmetic product\u0026rsquo;s customer support team to address concerns about their eco-friendly or natural claims effectively.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.777\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.778\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.87\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.691\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.022\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTR2 |0.855\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI am confident that Cosmetic product keeps its promises about product quality and ingredients.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.026\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTR3 |0.817\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI am more likely to purchase Cosmetic product products if they provide detailed information about the environmental impact of their production and packaging.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGreen Trust\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.04\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGT1 |0.705\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI am confident that cosmetic product's \"natural\" or \"herbal\" ingredient claims are accurate.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.904\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.907\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.923\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.036\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGT2 |0.765\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI trust labels like \"gentle\" or \"eco-friendly\" on Cosmetic product products.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.034\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGT3 |0.757\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI trust Cosmetic product\u0026rsquo;s claims about using eco-friendly and natural ingredients.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.028\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGT4 |0.781\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCompared to other brands, I trust Cosmetic product when it comes to eco-friendly or natural claims.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.037\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGT5 |0.755\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI feel Cosmetic product is honest about the ingredients they use in their products.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.021\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGT6 |0.822\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI feel Cosmetic product\u0026rsquo;s eco-friendly claims are genuine, based on their marketing and actual practices.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.03\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGT7 |0.773\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI feel Cosmetic product is transparent about their ingredients and eco-friendly practices.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.021\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGT8 |0.832\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI feel confident that Cosmetic product actively works to improve its eco-friendly practices and communicates these improvements clearly.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePurchase Decision\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.041\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePD1 |0.728\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCosmetic product\u0026rsquo;s eco-friendly claims influence my decision to buy their products.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.894\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.897\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.917\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.612\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.027\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePD2 |0.789\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCosmetic product\u0026rsquo;s product labels and ads significantly affect my decision to purchase their products.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.026\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePD3 |0.828\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCosmetic product\u0026rsquo;s eco-friendly or natural claims strongly impact my decision to purchase their products.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.032\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePD4 |0.792\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMy trust in Cosmetic product\u0026rsquo;s claims influences my choice when buying their products.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.033\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePD6 |0.789\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEco-friendly or natural claims are important to me when deciding to buy Cosmetic product products.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.031\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePD7 |0.794\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGreen or natural claims are important to me when choosing Cosmetic product products.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.038\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePD8 |0.750\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNatural wellness and traditional herbal expertise drive consumer preference for Cosmetic product products.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAfter the confirmation of reliability, the discriminant as well as convergent validation of. the general measurement model was tested. AVE was used on evaluating convergent and discriminant validity, which is given in Tables\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e and \u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e. As all AVE values are greater than 0.5, it confirms a strong support of convergent validity, strengthening validity and reliability of the proposed model (Fornell and Larker, 1981). Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e reveals that the square root of the mean variance extracted by each construct exceeded the correlations of constructs. Higher correlation of construct with measurement items as against other constructs, it is a sign that that particular construct is propensity to predict the interested latent construct regarding others latent constructs. This is the result which ascertains the measure good discriminant validity of model.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDiscriminant Validity\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"5\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGreen trust\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAuthenticity\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTransparency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePurchase Decision\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGreen trust\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.775\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAuthenticity\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.871\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.815\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTransparency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.858\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.783\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.831\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePurchase Decision\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.774\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.745\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.816\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.782\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAnother method of discriminant validation involves the comparison of square root of AVE of each construct and values of correlation among the constructs, as suggested by Hair et al. (2019). When square root of AVE is higher than the other values of correlation, it implies discriminant validity. All of the constructs in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e share or almost the same amount of AVE but Transparency has AVE value of 0.691 which is higher than other correlations among constructs and this confirms its strong establishment.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eStructural Model\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhen the research proceeds from measurement to structural model, focus shifts on analysis of relationships among the constructs as hypothesized using path diagram. The structural model diagram is depicted in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eStructural model was also evaluated along with the measurement model to test the hypotheses put forward. The hypotheses were tested in a progression. The first was an assessment of direct relationships between the latent variables- Perceived Authenticity (AU), Perceived Transparency (TR), Green Trust (GT), and Purchase Decision (PD). Direct paths significance was estimated using bootstrap resampling technique with 5,000 resamples (Ringle et al., 2005) to estimate standard errors. Path coefficients of the structural model show the size of each relationship.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe direct associations between the independent, mediating and dependent variables are summarized as shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e. The findings indicate that there is an insignificant relationship between Green Trust (GT) and Purchase Decision (PD) (β0.116, 0.282); therefore, the hypothesis that there is a significant relationship between the two is rejected. But the rest of the direct relationships were all statistically significant. In particular, Perceived Authenticity (AU) has a significant effect on Green Trust (GT) (β 0.514, 0.000) and Purchase Decision (PD) (β0.275, 0.000). In the same way, Green Trust (GT) has significant effect on Perceived Transparency (TR) (β0.456, 0.000) and Purchase Decision (PD) has significant effect on Green Trust (GT) (β0.601, 0.000).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab4\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 4\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eModel Path Coefficients (Direct Relationships)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"8\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRelationship\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBeta\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSample Mean (M)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStandard Deviation (STDEV)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eT-Value\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP Values\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDecision\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eH7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGT -\u0026gt; PD\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.116\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.115\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.107\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.075\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.282\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnsupported\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eH3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAU -\u0026gt; GT\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.514\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.515\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.051\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.128\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSupported\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eH1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAU -\u0026gt; PD\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.275\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.278\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.073\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.774\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSupported\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eH6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTR -\u0026gt; GT\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.456\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.456\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.049\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.256\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSupported\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eH4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTR -\u0026gt; PD\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.601\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.598\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.064\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.427\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSupported\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"8\" nameend=\"c8\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSRMR (Estimated model)\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.062\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eR-squared: Green Trust\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.839; Purchase Intention\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.697\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab5\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 5\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eModel Path Coefficients (Indirect Relationships)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"9\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndirect Path\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePath\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBeta\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePath\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBeta\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMediation Effect Beta\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eT-Value\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP- Value\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDecision\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eH2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAU-GT\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.514\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGT-PD\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.116\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.059\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.075\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.282\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnsupported\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eH5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTR-GT\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.456\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGT-PD\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.116\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.053\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.049\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.294\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnsupported\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe results of indirect effects of Perceived Authenticity (AU) as well as Perceived Transparency (TR) on Purchase Decision (PD) with mediating variable Green Trust (GT) can be found in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e. The findings show that the mediating effect of Green Trust over the association between Perceived Authenticity and Purchase Decision is not significant (β0.514, 0.282). Similarly, the Green Trust nuclear effect on Perceived Transparency to Purchase Decision is also not significant (β0.456, 0.294).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eF\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e was used to measure the effect size, which showed practical value of model. Rules of assessing F\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e imply that 0.02, 0.15 and 0.024 respectively imply that these are minor, and moderately significant effects of the exogenous unobserved variable (Cohen, 2013). In order to test model adequacy Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR) as indicated in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e is used. A good fit is taken to be represented by values less than 0.10, which go down to 0.08 in a conservative interpretation (Hair Jr et al., 2021). There is a positive SRMR of 0.062 in the model. So, the SRMR value indicates that model of estimation has sufficiently explained a large share of the variability of data.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCoefficient of Determination (R\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e) values depict proportion of variance in endogenous construct explained by exogenous constructs (Chin, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1998\u003c/span\u003e). Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e shows that around 69.7 percent of variation in endogenous construct purchase decision is explained by exogenous constructs included in the model. Similarly, around 83.9 percent of variation in green trust is explained by the model. The values indicate that model has sufficient explanatory power.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab6\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 6\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePredictive Relevance (Q\u003c/em\u003e\u003csup\u003e\u003cem\u003e2\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003cem\u003e)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSSO\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSSE\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eQ\u0026sup2; (=\u0026thinsp;1-SSE/SSO)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGreen Trust\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1006.64\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.497\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePerceived Authenticity\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePerceived Transparency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e750\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e750\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePurchase Decision\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1750\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1015.495\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.42\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eQ\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e by Stone-Geisser is among the metric which can be useful in assessing fitness of structural model. Positive value indicates the capability of the model of predicting the omitted variable and the higher the value the better prediction (Geisser, 1974). A value of greater than 0.2 is usually regarded as a good predictive relevance. The values of Q2 in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab6\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e are positive (Q2\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0.2), therefore, it can be argued that the model has a good fit.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"5. Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study examines the use of eco-labeling in cosmetic products and explores how customers perceive the information conveyed through these labels, as well as how such perceptions influence their purchase intentions and behaviors. With raising green consumerism in recent periods and concerns about sustainable business practices, products and services offered are adopting ecological and environmentally friendly features. It is a part of their value proposition and also supports in remaining competitive in the market. Customers who are environmentally conscious are paying more attention towards authenticity of the environmental claims made by products during their purchase decision. The global phenomena of increased awareness and concern of product make up and its environmental footprint among customers in on raise (Contini et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn this context, this study attempts to investigate the influence of the constructs perceived green authenticity and perceived transparency on consumers\u0026rsquo; purchase decisions. Additionally, the mediating role of trust in the relationship has also been analyzed. The study results offer significant practical implications regarding the effects of eco-labeling information on the buying behavior of consumers in the cosmetic sector with focus on how the behavior is influenced by perceived authenticity, perceived transparency, and green trust. The study results reveal a number of interesting patterns which are important in increased understanding of consumer behavior toward environmentally labeled products.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe study findings depict that perceived green authenticity and perceived transparency have significant and positive effect on both green trust and purchase decision. The results are in corroboration with prior some studies (Fang, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e; Fu et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; Islam et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e) which have also shown that purchase intention and degree of trust among the customers are influenced by the authenticity and transparency created by business firms. It implies that consumers are more likely to develop belief in and buy cosmetic products bearing eco-labels in circumstances where environmental claims made are authentic and supplemented by providing information which is transparent and open. This is in line with previous literature which also find that in a sustainable marketing environment, authenticity and transparency are key antecedents of consumer trust and purchase intention (Chen, 2010; Parguel et al., 2011).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn contrary to prior studies, relationship between green trust and purchase decision found to be insignificant. This finding indicates that the trust in green labeling factor may not necessarily influence buying decision in case of cosmetics products. Consumers may believe in the green label and what the product is saying about environmental considerations. Other factors such as brand familiarity, product efficacy, aesthetics may assert higher influence in purchase decision. This observation is consistent with few prior research (Suki, 2016; Kang \u0026amp; Hustvedt, 2014) which also emphasize the role of trust as a necessary but not sufficient element of purchase behavior. Specially in situations when it is not supported by perception of value or emotional attachment.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe mediating effect of green trust in relationship between perceived authenticity, perceived transparency and purchase decision was also found to be insignificant. The result reveals that although authenticity and transparency can build trust but the trust may not be sufficient to induce purchase decision in customers of cosmetics products. The reason may be consumers can view eco-labels on cosmetic products as an added moral attribute but not a fundamental factor for making buying decisions. To state briefly, while green trust improves favorable brand image it may not be a strong factor enough to neutralize more concrete product attributes such as quality, functionality or price.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHence, the study findings indicate that there is direct relationship between authenticity and transparency with purchase decision but not indirectly through trust. Therefore, the findings imply that it is important for cosmetic brands to provide credible information on environmental issues and be fair and honest in disclosure of their sustainability initiatives. Business firms need to ensure that information given in eco-labels should be verifiable Firms must thus make sure that the information featured in eco-labels is verifiable and be in accordance with the brand identity. This may likely boost consumer confidence and buying intentions even in cases where trust element is low or missing.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOverall, despite the theoretical significance of trust it has not mediating effect in this study. It implies that the consumer response to eco-labels in cosmetic products are more cognitively and perceptually influenced due to the role played by perceived authenticity and transparency of product information. The results contribute to the increasing body of green marketing research. It suggests that sustainable buying behavior of consumers in the cosmetic products in the context of developing economies may not depend on development of trust in the long term but on immediate impressions of credibility and openness that is conveyed via eco-labeling.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"6. Conclusion and Recommendations","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study examined the influence of eco-labeling information on consumers\u0026rsquo; purchase decisions of cosmetic products in context of a developing country. It focused on the roles of perceived green authenticity and perceived transparency on purchase decision. Additionally, the mediating effect of green trust on the relationship was also analyzed. Study results depict that both perceived authenticity and perceived transparency positive and significant effect on green trust and directly affect consumers\u0026rsquo; purchase decisions. However, green trust was insignificant in influencing purchase decision and it didn\u0026rsquo;t have mediating effect on role of authenticity and trust in facilitating purchase decision.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo conclude, the results suggest that consumers\u0026rsquo; purchasing behavior toward eco-labeled cosmetic products is primarily driven by their perceptions of how authentic and transparent the provided environmental information is. In other words, consumers are more likely to respond more to the clarity and credibility of green claims than to the emotional trust developed towards the brand. While green trust contributes to a positive brand image, it may not alone drive purchase decisions in the cosmetic sector. The purchase decision in the sector may be more influenced by sensory experience, product performance, and personal preferences.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe findings of this study provide several practical contributions for marketers, brand managers, and policymakers in the cosmetic industry. They offer implications for enhancing consumer engagement with eco-labeled products. The results highlight that perceived authenticity and transparency play decisive role in influencing consumer purchase decisions than green trust. This insight offers important implications for cosmetic companies in developing effective sustainability communication and marketing strategies.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"7. Implications","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe study findings have several implications. Theoretically, this study contributes to the growing literature on green marketing and consumer behavior by highlighting that authenticity and transparency function are important predictors of purchase decision. In a developing country context like Nepal, this study offers greater understanding of green marketing and eco-labelling. It emphasizes importance of perceptual constructs in understanding how eco-label information is processed by customers.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePractically the study suggests that cosmetic companies should focus on authenticity of environmental claims. The claims should synchronize with their stated values and actual business practices. Transparent and verifiable communication is important in lowering consumer skepticism and enhancing brand credibility. Eco-labels should be supported by genuine environmental actions such as sustainable sourcing and ethical production. They should not be used as promotional symbols. This study emphasizes importance of green transparency as a competitive advantage. Firms are encouraged to disclose detailed and understandable information about their sustainability performance. Openness builds confidence among environmentally conscious consumers and also differentiates brands in a crowded cosmetic market.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe results suggest that marketing efforts should focus in creating customer awareness in eco-labeling. Awareness of eco-label standards and certification processes can support customers in making informed purchase decisions. Finally, the study also provides implications for policymakers and certification bodies. It raises the need to standardize eco-labeling systems and ensure monitoring of environmental claims. Reliable and transparent labeling frameworks can enhance public confidence in green marketing. It will benefit both consumers and responsible businesses.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"8. Directions for Future Researchers","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe study is cross-sectional in nature. Hence, causal inferences should be made cautiously. Future studies can use longitudinal design to establish causality and focus on larger sample sizes. It may also be used to examine how consumer trust in eco-labels changes with time. This study focuses on cosmetic products only. Cross-industry comparison of effect of eco-labels on customer purchase decision can aid in understanding of industry-wide differences in the phenomena. Furthermore, the inclusion of other psychological and behavioral factors such as perceived value, hedonic motivation etc. may yield a better explanation of the effectiveness of eco-labels. This study is quantitative in nature. Qualitative studies should be undertaken to draw rich and insightful meanings on how customers experience eco-labels.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFunding:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003eThe authors received no funding for this research study.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eClinical trial number:\u003c/strong\u003e Not applicable\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eData Availability Statement:\u003c/strong\u003e Data will be made available upon request to the corresponding author stating a valid reason.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eInformed consent statement:\u003c/strong\u003e Informed consent was taken from respondents. Respondents were informed about the study\u0026apos;s purpose and they voluntarily agreed to participate.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDisclosure of interest statement;\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003eNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConsent to Publish:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003eNot applicable\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEthics declaration:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003eThe study complies with principles stated in Declaration of Helsinki for ethical considerations. As per the protocol stated in the Research Management Cell (RMC) Guidelines, School of Business, Pokhara University, ethical approval waiver is granted for research involving minimal risk. The link for the guidelines is mentioned below. https://admin.pusob.edu.np/images/publication/publication1765542665.pdf\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthors\u0026apos; contributions -\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003eCredit: UA \u0026amp; USY: Conception and design of the study, Methodology, Visualization, writing \u0026ndash; original draft, Writing \u0026ndash; review \u0026amp; editing; TD, SB \u0026amp; RLP: Methodology, Editing, Supervision, Validation and Review. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcknowledgements:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003eThe authors would like to express their sincere gratitude for the valuable and constructive feedback provided by the reviewers and the journal editor throughout the review process.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAbubakari A, Majeed M, Amoako GK, Ofori KS, Ampong GOA. 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Heliyon. 2023;9(7):e18029. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e18029\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e18029\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-sustainability","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"disu","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Sustainability](https://www.springer.com/43621)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Discover Sustainability","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"eco-labeling, perceived green authenticity, perceived green transparency, green trust, purchase decision, cosmetics","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8331218/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8331218/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe study analyzes impact of perceived green authenticity and transparency of eco-labels on consumers' purchasing decisions of cosmetic items. The mediating effect of green trust in the relationship is also examined. Utilizing a quantitative, cross-sectional methodology, data is collected from 250 cosmetic users in Pokhara Valley, Nepal, administered through structured questionnaire. The study has employed PLS-SEM in SmartPLS for analysis. Findings reveal perceived green authenticity (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.275, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001) and perceived green transparency (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.601, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001) have significant direct positive influences on purchasing decisions and are strong predictors of green trust (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.514 and β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.456, respectively; p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001). Nonetheless, green trust does not substantially influence purchase decisions (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.116, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.282) and does not mediate the links between authenticity/transparency and purchase decisions. The results disclose that customer basically respond to the instantaneous credibility and transparency of eco-label information rather than to a thoughtful emotional trust in the brand within the cosmetic sector. The practical consequences necessitate the cosmetic companies to importantly design and emphasize credible, transparent sustainability communication and genuine environmental measures to effectively influence purchasing behavior of consumers buying cosmetics.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"The Impact of Authenticity and Transparency of Eco-labeling in Cosmetic Product Purchase Decision ","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-01-20 11:23:54","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8331218/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2026-03-06T12:16:51+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-01-31T15:01:58+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-01-28T10:57:47+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"83236565449014097969683714299218728104","date":"2026-01-18T16:31:34+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"94894310415538391734034166899822709759","date":"2026-01-17T09:23:16+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"112462238068719691710466627741659587747","date":"2026-01-16T15:50:40+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-01-16T15:26:44+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2026-01-01T17:45:38+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-12-22T03:34:23+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-12-21T16:11:04+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Discover Sustainability","date":"2025-12-21T16:03:52+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-sustainability","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"disu","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Sustainability](https://www.springer.com/43621)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Discover Sustainability","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"cf6a65fc-b1f8-43b2-bd07-76c6493a6823","owner":[],"postedDate":"January 20th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"in-revision","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-08T05:38:49+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-01-20 11:23:54","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8331218","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8331218","identity":"rs-8331218","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}