The effect of an environmental claim on consumers' perceptions about luxury and utilitarian products

• We examine the effect of an environmental claim on products evaluations.
• We show that an environmental claim is perceived as a utilitarian feature.
• A claim enhances utilitarian products' evaluations by increasing functionality.
• A claim improves evaluations of luxuries by providing available justification.
• A claim positioned as enhancing global/personal benefits also impacts evaluations.

This research examines how an environmental claim - an eco-label with a message about a product causing less damage to the environment – differently affects consumers' evaluations of utilitarian products and of luxuries. The results of two online studies show that consumers perceive an environmental claim as being a utilitarian aspect of a product, and, therefore, such claims may enhance consumers' evaluations of utilitarian products, especially when the content of the claim emphasizes global-environmental benefits. In addition, the environmental claim may improve evaluations of luxury products by providing available justification to indulge and use luxuries. The latter effect is enhanced when the content of the environmental claim emphasizes personal-social benefits, related to the user's social status.