Consumer Preferences for Green and Sustainable Products: A Critical Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31305/rrijm.2024.v09.n11.039Keywords:
Green consumerism, sustainable products, environmental behavior, eco-friendly products, consumer preferences, green marketing, sustainable developmentAbstract
This paper critically examines the growing consumer preference for green and sustainable products in the context of increasing environmental awareness and climate change concerns. It explores the theoretical and empirical literature to understand the key factors influencing consumer behavior, including environmental consciousness, price sensitivity, product labeling, social influence, and government regulations. The review also highlights the gap between consumers’ intentions and actual purchase behavior, analyzing psychological, social, and economic barriers. Findings indicate that while consumers express a positive attitude towards eco-friendly products, actual purchasing decisions are often hindered by perceived high costs, lack of availability, and inadequate knowledge. The paper suggests that a multi-stakeholder approach involving businesses, policymakers, and educators is essential to promote sustainable consumption effectively. Through this review, the paper offers a comprehensive insight into the dynamics of green consumerism and outlines strategies for bridging the attitude-behavior gap in sustainability.
References
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T
Biswas, A., & Roy, M. (2015). Green products: an exploratory study on the consumer behaviour in emerging economies of the East. Journal of Cleaner Production, 87, 463–468. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.09.075
Chen, T. B., & Chai, L. T. (2010). Attitude towards the environment and green products: Consumers’ perspective. Management Science and Engineering, 4(2), 27–39. https://doi.org/10.3968/j.mse.1913035X20100402.002
Chekima, B., Wafa, S. A. W. S. K., Igau, O. A., & Sondoh, S. L. (2016). Examining green consumerism motivational drivers: Does premium price and demographics matter to green purchasing? Journal of Cleaner Production, 112, 3436–3450. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.09.102
Darnall, N., Ji, H., & Vazquez-Brust, D. (2012). Third-party certification, sponsorship, and consumers’ eco-label use. Journal of Business Ethics, 117(2), 243–253. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1521-x
Delmas, M. A., & Burbano, V. C. (2011). The drivers of greenwashing. California Management Review, 54(1), 64–87. https://doi.org/10.1525/cmr.2011.54.1.64
Ellen, P. S., Wiener, J. L., & Cobb‐Walgren, C. (1991). The role of perceived consumer effectiveness in motivating environmentally conscious behaviors. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 10(2), 102–117.
Gupta, S., & Ogden, D. T. (2009). To buy or not to buy? A social dilemma perspective on green buying. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 26(6), 376–391. https://doi.org/10.1108/07363760910988201
Johnstone, M. L., & Tan, L. P. (2015). Exploring the gap between consumers’ green rhetoric and purchasing behaviour. Journal of Business Ethics, 132, 311–328. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2316-3
Joshi, Y., & Rahman, Z. (2015). Factors affecting green purchase behaviour and future research directions. International Strategic Management Review, 3(1–2), 128–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ism.2015.04.001
Lee, K. (2008). Opportunities for green marketing: Young consumers. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 26(6), 573–586. https://doi.org/10.1108/02634500810902839
Leonidou, C. N., Katsikeas, C. S., & Morgan, N. A. (2011). Greening the marketing mix: Do greeners lead to greener? International Journal of Business and Social Science, 2(23), 1–17.
Peattie, K. (2001). Golden goose or wild goose? The hunt for the green consumer. Business Strategy and the Environment, 10(4), 187–199. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.292
Roberts, J. A. (1996). Green consumers in the 1990s: Profile and implications for advertising. Journal of Business Research, 36(3), 217–231. https://doi.org/10.1016/0148-2963(95)00150-6
Schlegelmilch, B. B., Bohlen, G. M., & Diamantopoulos, A. (1996). The link between green purchasing decisions and measures of environmental consciousness. European Journal of Marketing, 30(5), 35–55. https://doi.org/10.1108/03090569610118740
Thaler, R. H., & Sunstein, C. R. (2008). Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth, and happiness. Yale University Press.
Thøgersen, J. (2006). Norms for environmentally responsible behaviour: An extended taxonomy. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 26(4), 247–261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2006.09.004
Young, W., Hwang, K., McDonald, S., & Oates, C. J. (2010). Sustainable consumption: Green consumer behaviour when purchasing products. Sustainable Development, 18(1), 20–31. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.394
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
