Clean labeling: Is it about the presence of benefits or the absence of detriments? Consumer response to personal care claims

The personal care industry is gradually shifting its promises toward health and environment-based messages, promoting either the addition of beneficial ingredients or processes or the removal of potentially deleterious additives or procedures. However, prior research has failed to encapsulate and organize the plethora of claims and to link consumer concerns, knowledge, and the influence of prosocial norms to attitude and purchase intention. This study examines the impact of absence- and presence-framed claims referring either to health or environmental friendliness on attitude and behavioral intention toward personal care products. It also explores differences in consumer profiles (concerning health, the environment, appearance, peer pressure, or disparate levels of front-of-package literacy). Using a framework based on Ajzen (1985) theory of planned behavior enriched with variables such as personal altruistic and egoistic concerns, claim credibility, and attitude, this study shows the superiority of absence-versus presence-framed claims for health and environment-based messages. Both claims pertaining to the environment and to health generate a positive attitude and are powerful in further converting it into buying intention.