Fliegelman, Jessica E.

"The next generation of greenwash: diminishing consumer

confusion through a national eco-labeling program." Fordham Urban Law Journal 37.4
(2010): 1001+. LegalTrac. Web. 20 Jan. 2011.

Consumers influence green production by buying eco-labeled products. It is

important to prevent greenwashing in order to maintain consumer trust. The Federal
Trade Commission has some power in restricting greenwashing under its Deception
Policy. Several court rulings uphold the constitutionality of these restrictions. Third
parties such as Green Seal and Green Cross as well as the FTC’s Green Guides help
increase voluntary eco-labeling, but government-backed eco-labels like Energy Star have
been very recognizable and effective. However, these usually lack the force of law,
scientific specificity, national uniformity, enforcement, and updated terminology. A joint
agency approach between the FTC and EPA is suggested and could go on to provide
certification and eco-labels to carbon offset providers.

Lewinsohn-Zamir, Daphna. "Consumer preferences, citizen preferences, and the

provision of public goods." Yale Law Journal 108.2 (1998): 377. LegalTrac.

There is evidence that individuals behave differently as consumers than they do as

citizens; although they may express others-regarding civically through voting or
vocalizing support for certain ideas, they often behave in a self-interested manner in a
private market. The nature of the consumed goods is key in determining which role an
individual will adopt. Private goods are those that can only be consumed by one person
(ex: food, electronics, residences) while public goods are enjoyed by many people (ex:
roads, public schools, etc.) Conventional economics’ explanation of private markets’
failure to provide public goods rests on individuals’ preference to receive benefits
without paying for them (the Prisoner’s Dilemma). However, given adequate
communication, individuals are far more likely to contribute and behave cooperatively.
The author proposes an Assurance Game theory that purports to re-prioritize individual
preference when communication is allowed. Evidence for this theory’s viability is found
in data supporting claims that perceived efficacy of collective actions is correlated with
willingness to cooperate.

Master List

Gutman, Benjamin N. "Ethical eating: applying the Kosher food regulatory regime to
organic food." Yale Law Journal108.8 (1999): 2351-2384. LegalTrac.

Black, Dorothy J. "International trade v. environmental protection: the case of the U.S.
embargo on Mexican tuna." Law and Policy in International Business 24.1 (1992): 123-
156. LegalTrac.
The case of the U.S. embargo on Mexican yellowfin tuna incited conflict when under the
Marine Mammal Protection Act, the U.S. felt obligated to use trade restrictions to halt
import of Mexican tuna caught using methods that commonly led to incidental dolphin
killings in the eastern tropical pacific. This conflicted with the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and was overturned by Mexico’s appeal. In terms of
international trade law, states may tax or regulate imports for environmental purposes,
but may not restrict imports simply because the country of origin has different
environmental policies; this embargo did not fit GATT’s narrowly-defined exemptions
from its policy against quantitative restrictions. Unilateral decision-making is often a
driver of this sort of disagreement, as different states’ values systems come into conflict.
Trade sanctions as tools to promote behavior change present several issues: the
possibility of retaliation, economic harm, and limited ability to affect change. Yet they
remain one of the most common means of enforcing environmental regulation beyond a
state’s territory. International cooperation/consensus is preferable to trade sanctions in
that it is multilateral, harmonizing of standards, and easier to enforce. The U.S. could
seek a waiver from or an amendment to GATT or they could rely on the GATT-
consistent Dolphin Protection Consumer Information Act, which provides “dolphin safe”
labels for consumers.

Ideas: Taxes on environmentally harmful products brought into cities/counties/etc., since

this case drew a lot of attention in the U.S. perhaps it would be worth it to consider a
“local embargo” against the most environmentally hazardous products presented to
consumers even if it generates pushback, support for eco-labeling; more consistency to
increase recognition.

Kysar, Douglas A. "Preferences for processes: the process/product distinction and the
regulation of consumer choice." Harvard Law Review 118.2 (2004): 525-642. LegalTrac.

Salzman, James. "Sustainable consumption and the law." Environmental Law 27.4
(1997): 1243-1293. LegalTrac.

This author asserts that although environmental law has been in many ways
effective at addressing pollution levels, its attention to consumption has been inadequate.
U.S. laws have largely focused on the impact of production. This is flawed because
products have environmental impacts throughout their entire lifecycle while production
only affects that making and disposal of products. Externality costs are rarely borne by
industry and consumers are unaware of the impacts of their purchases, making the
problem difficult (if not impossible) to address by market mechanisms alone. Legislation
has three roles: the “gatekeeper” who mandates product performance and content; the
information source mandating impact assessment and disclosure; and the price-controller
mandating taxes and fees. Government control of resources has historically taken place in
times of scarcity (rations, embargoes). According to the author, government control of
consumption has three components:
Government at the Entrance Door: Requirements for products to even go to market; See
the Clean Air Act, Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards, and mandates limiting
inclusion of toxic chemicals or minimum recycled content. These requirements are often
displayed via public procurement by the government itself.
Government on the Label: Information disclosure, warnings, and endorsements; See
MPG labels on new cars, greenwashing article above, warnings on ozone depleting
substances, “dolphin safe” tuna, and other eco-labels.
Government at the Cash Register: Correction of price signals of products by capturing
externalities via taxes and fees; see CFC taxes.
Additionally the author identifies four reasons for inadequate consumption laws: 1. Ad
hoc approach often stemming from isolated crises. 2. Failure to account for a lifecycle
perspective. 3. Failure to capture externalities. 4. Focus on consuming better instead of
consuming less.
One way to address these problems is through Extended Producer Responsibility
(EPR) and Packaging Take-Back. In these frameworks the producer becomes responsible
for environmental impacts of a product. With Take-Back, the producer becomes
responsible for stewardship of product disposal and packaging (the “polluter pays”
principle). Germany passed an Ordinance on Avoidance of Packaging Waste mandating
EPR and created the Duales System Deutschland: a private venture managing product
take-back. In the United States, individual states have the advantage of avoiding antitrust
legislation that affects joint ventures federally. This program is beyond recycling; it is a
fundamental reexamination of product manufacturers’ designs. Volkswagen, GM, and
BMW have already adopted “designing for disassembly”. This author recommends
limination of extraction subsidies to accompany EPR.

McGarity, Thomas O. "The complementary roles of common law courts and federal
agencies in producing and using policy-relevant scientific information.
(Symposium)." Environmental Law 37.4 (2007): 1027+. LegalTrac.

Psychological

Knutson, Brian, Scott Rick, Elliott Wimmer, Drazen Prelec and George Loewenstein.
“Neural Predictors of Purchases” Neuron 53, 147-156. January 4, 2007.

Consumer purchasing decisions are influenced by anticipatory affect; it involves a

tradeoff between potential pleasure of acquisition of a desired product (preference) and
the pain of paying (price). These perceptions are linked to distinct neural circuits.
The mesial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) is activated when preferred products are viewed vs.
not preferred. The MPFC is activated by gain prediction errors, integrating gains and
losses, and reduced prices. Nucleus accumbens (NAcc) activation correlates with gain
prediction and product preference. In previous studies, NAcc activity predicted
subsequent behavior during product presentation. This study implicates NAcc in intention
to cooperate in agreements or tasks. Insula activation correlates with anticipation of
physical pain and excessive prices. Insula and MPFC predicted subsequent behavior
during price presentation in prior research. According to previous scientific literature,
people react more to the price relative to what they think it should be more than they react
to absolute price. Insula activation may suggest that purchasing decisions may involve
anticipated gain and loss, instead of gain only. As established by previous research,
individuals have immediate affective reactions to potential gain and loss; this could help
explain overspending on credit. Specific patterns of brain activation predict purchasing.
Before the decision, product preference activates the NAcc, but this only goes so far;
after excessive price increases, Insula activation occurs.

Hilton, Matthew. Prosperity for All: Consumer Activism in an Era of Globalization,

Ithaca, Cornell University Press, 2009.

John F. Kennedy outlined four consumer rights: 1. The right to safety, 2. The right
to be informed, 3. The right to choose, and 4. The right to be heard. Later, the
International Organization of Consumers Unions added four more rights: 5. The right to
redress, 6. The right to consumer education, 7. The right to a healthy environment, and 8.
The right to basic goods and services. Consumer advocates Chaz Maviyane-Davies and
Anwar Fazal exclude “the right to choose”: They viewed it as a privilege afforded only to
the affluent and not the developing world. They viewed choice as less of a priority than
basic needs. Fazal promoted orientation of consumerism towards environmental and
human rights instead of choice and redress. Global trends indicate that rights are the
bargaining tools for regulatory mechanisms. They are a convenient mechanism to impose
regulation.
The author argues that the language of politics is rights-based perhaps because rights-
based policies are less controversial. Many theorists say they are based on human needs.
Rights can supercede economic, racial, or geographical lines and stake claim to universal
applicability. Codifying rights at conventions or into declarations of rights can allow
them to permeate legislative frameworks. The prioritization of the right to choice imposes
only the duty not to interfere with others’ choices. This does not necessarily include the
duty not to interfere with others’ basic needs.

Erk, Susanne, Manfred Spitzer, Arthur P. Wunderich, Lars Galley and Henrik Walter.
“Cultural objects modulate reward circuitry” NeuroReport 13, 18, 2499-2503. December
20, 2002.

Rewards can act as positive reinforcers of behavior. In the brain, reward is

mediated by dopaminergic systems (such as the ventral striatum where the Nacc is
located). This system is activated in humans naturally by sexual stimuli, food, or viewing
attractive mates. Money acts as the strongest learned reinforcer. Reward mechanisms are
involved in social relations like rank and dominance, which are signaled by wealth and
superfluity. In this study, cultural objects signaling wealth (sports cars) were not only
rated as more attractive than limousines and small cars by the twelve male participants,
but also elicited significantly more activation in brain regions associated with reward
(right ventral striatum, left orbitofrontal cortex, left anterior cingulate and bilateral
prefrontal cortex). Attractive sports cars activated neural reward circuitry.
Mast, Fred W., Gerald Zaltman. “A behavioral window on the mind of the market: An
application of the response time paradigm” Brain Research Bulletin 67, 422-427. July 5,
2005.

According to past research, previously expressed attitudes do not often correlate

with observed behavior. Self-reporting is, however, still widely used in market research.
Implicit associations with brands or products predicts behavior better than self-reports.
These associations may help prime behavior. Priming occurs when response time to
different stimuli is affected by having seen a prime stimulus beforehand. This effect is
based on whether or not the prime stimulus is conceptually related to the stimulus being
tested. This article asserts that one way to prime purchasing behavior is to present
information at the entrance of a store before the consumer is interacting with goods.
Additionally, this provides support for the claim that the ways in which stores are
organized matter in terms of affecting purchasing decisions. This study also asserts the
importance of the mere exposure effect: people often prefer familiarity/objects they have
previously seen instead of new ones. Often, humans are not even cognizant of this effect.

Schaefer, Michael and Michael Rotte. “Favorite brands as cultural objects modulate
reward circuit” NeuroReport 18(2), 141-145. January 22, 2007.

The authors assert that brand loyalty plays an important role in economics. This
study examined how specific brands (even if just logos or icons and not the products
themselves) may trigger reward mechanisms in the brain. The dorsolateral prefrontal
cortex is a brain area involved in working memory and cognitive control; less activation
may mean reduced strategic reasoning and judging. Perception of a most beloved brand
reduces activation in a section of this area. Personally attractive brands modulate
structures of the reward circuit such as the ventral striatum, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex,
and inferior frontal gyrus (used in language processing). This study suggests that the
ventral striatum has a role in maintaining representation of subjective value of a stimulus.
It further suggests that cultural symbols, especially those that indicate social status) have
the ability to modulate the ventral striatum. This holds true even in the face of more
rational choices. Simply having a most beloved brand may make consumers less likely to
consider the positive and negative qualities of a consumer good, as indicated by reduced
dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activity.

Bearden, William O. and Michael J. Etzel. “Reference Group Influence on Product and
Brand Purchase Decisions” Journal of Consumer Research 9(2), 183-194. September,
1982.

Reference groups are roughly defined by the authors as individuals or groups with
which others compare themselves and are used for comparison of oneself to others or as
a source of personal norms. These individuals or groups do not have to be proximate to a
person in order to influence his or her behavior. Reference groups have three types of
influence on human behavior:
Information: When faced with a decision, individuals tend to seek out additional
information and are likely to accept that which they perceive as most credible.
Utilitarian: Individuals tend to comply with others to receive reward or avoid
punishment.
Value-expressive: Individual have a need for psychological association with another
individual or group and frequently adopt the values of others.
Those products most susceptible to reference group influence are exclusive
(luxury items) or those that are consumed visibly.

Lin, Ching-Hung, Hsu-Ping Tuan and Yao-Chu Chiu. “Medial Frontal Activity in Brand-
Loyal Consumers: A Behavior and Near-Infrared Ray Study” Journal of Neuroscience,
Psychology, and Economics 3(2) 59-73. 2010.

The Medial Frontal Cortex (MFC) is critical for associative learning and decision-
making. It is especially so in social situations. It is also involved in anticipation, value
assessment, monetary decision-making, error detection, and conflict monitoring. Other
studies have suggested its activation by inconsistencies between brand and product,
indicating negative emotion. Behavioral data from this study suggests that brand-loyal
customers are more sensitive to brand knowledge, while brand switchers responded only
to product attractiveness. The neuroimaging data suggest MFC activation occurs in
response to feelings of anticipated reward and during this study MFC activation
suggested that luxury products evoked stronger preferences. MFC activation was
primarily in response to attractiveness rather than to luxury. These results provide
evidence for social conditioning or brand attractiveness increasing the attractiveness of a
certain design or product of a brand, which would enhance the neural reward circuitry
activation for this brand.

Griskevicus, Vladas, Joshua M. Tybur, Bram Van den Bergh. “Going Green to Be Seen:
Status, Reputation, and Conspicuous Conservation” Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology 98(3) 392-404. 2010.

Prior research has focused heavily on ethical and economical incentives to go green, yet
there are significant social motives. Previous studies have also suggested that people are
particularly sensitive to social and reputational aspects of conservation. Environmental
purchasing can be said to be a prosocial behavior which can build reputation as a
cooperative group member, making individuals become more likely to be seen as
trustworthy or desirable. It also benefits a person’s status in a group. Human tendency to
desire to be seen as relatively more altruistic has been termed competitive altruism. One
possible theory explaining this tendency is the costly signaling theory which presents
altruism as a form of communication showing a person can incur costs to be self-
sacrificial in the name of the public good. This suggests a status-related motive for
altruistic behavior. In this study, activating status motives led people to an increased
likelihood of choosing pro-environmental products over higher-quality luxury products.
In this study, this holds true when making decisions in public, but the attractiveness of
luxury products tends to be more of a status motive when making decisions in private.
This supports the costly signaling theory. In this study, when green products were
cheaper, status motives decreased desire for pro-environmental products.

Fransson, Niklas and Tommy Garling. “Environmental Concern: Conceptual Definitions,

Measurement Methods, and Research Findings” Journal of Environmental Psychology
19, 369-382. 1999.

These authors outline socio-economic factors influencing environmental concern as

having consistently had five influences: education, age, residential area, and political
ideology. However, previous research has suggested that environmentally responsible
behavior is affected by a number of factors, and environmental concern, as an attitude,
often does not correlate with behavior unless it is measured to the same level of
specificity and the behavior is easy. Additional factors that influence behavior are
knowledge, locus of control, personal norms, environmental or personal responsibility,
verbal commitments, and perceived health threats. Strategies to increase and influence
environmentally responsible behavior are recommended by the authors to take into
consideration the process by which people become responsible consumers. Research on
strategies to increase environmental behaviors has found that the most effective strategies
contain five factors: knowledge about environmental problems, discussion about
alternative solutions to such problems, development of problem analysis and problem-
solving ability, value discussions, and skill training. This provides support for
environmental concern affecting behavior, however information intervention may not be
as clear cut of a solution due to the lack of a correlation between concern and behavior.

Bamberg, Sebastian. “How does environmental concern influence specific

environmentally related behaviors? A new answer to an old question” Journal of
Environmental Psychology 23, 21-32. 2003.

Gobel, Markus, Andrea Schneider and Tobias Thomas. “Consumption Behavior and the
Aspiration for Conformity and Consistency” Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology, and
Economics 3(2) 83-94. 2010.
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Communication Theory, Chapter 31. McGraw-Hill.

Berheim, Douglas. “A Theory of Conformity” Journal of Political Economy 102(5), 841-

877. October 1994.
Bikhchandani, Sushil, David Hirshleifer and Ivo Welch. “A Theory of Fads, Fashion,
Custom, and Cultural Change as Informational Cascades” Journal of Political Economy
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Cole, Harold L., George J. Mailath and Andrew Postlewaite. “Social Norms, Savings
Behavior, and Growth” Journal of Political Economy 100(6) 1092-1125. December 1992.

Peters, Ellen, Nathan F. Dieckmann, Daniel Vastfjall, C.K. Mertz, Paul Slovic and Judith
H. Hibbard. “Bringing Meaning to Numbers: The Impact of Evaluative Categories on
Decisions” Journal of Experimental Psychology 15(3), 213-227. 2009.

Verplanken, Bas and Rob W. Holland. “Motivated Decision Making: Effects of

Activation and Self-Centrality of Values on Choices and Behavior” Journal of Peronality
and Social Psychology 82(3), 434-447. 2002.

Stephens, Nicole M., Hazel Rose Markus and Sarah S. M. Townsend. “Choice as an Act
of Meaning: The Case of Social Class” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
93(5) 814-830. 2007.

Fox, Craig R., Rebecca K. Ratner and Daniel S. Lieb. “How Subjective Grouping of
Options Influences Choice and Allocation: Diversification Bias and the Phenomenon of
Partition Dependence” Journal of Experimental Psychology 134(4), 538-551. 2005.

Edney, Julian J. “The Commons Problem: Alternative Perspectives” American

Psychologist 35(2), 131-150. February 1980.

Black, George “Clear and Present Danger” OnEarth Magazine Online, Natural Resources
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Levin, Irwin P. and J.D. Jasper. “Experimental Analysis of Nationalistic Tendencies in

Consumer Decision Processes: Case of the Multinational Product” Journal of
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