Green practices and environmental stewardship are beginning to shape our economy and drive the way in which firms compete (Lubin and Esty, 2010). Thus, further understanding of the implications of this megatrend is needed. Our study offers some initial insight into this area via utilizing R‐A and diffusion of innovation theories along with a recently published logistics innovation diffusion model as a framework to assess how consumer perception of quality may affect the diffusion of GSCM. We found that participants view remanufactured products and reused products to be of lesser quality than brand‐new products. Products made with recycled materials were found to be perceived by participants as being equal to brand‐new products in terms of quality. Industry professionals can use the results of this study to better understand the perceptions of their consumers when deciding whether or not to adopt GRL. Researchers can use this study as a starting point to further investigate the relationship between GSCM and competitive advantage.