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Abstract
Environmental friendly purchase behaviour covers a broad range of possible actions such as
using biodegradable materials, avoiding products with damaging contents, boycotting products,
favouring recycled materials, using refillable packaging, and so on. However such actions depend
on possessing reasonably accurate information about product alternatives. Eco-labels are meant
to convey information to consumers about the environmental implications of purchasing the
product, so that consumers who care about such effects can express their desires in the market.
This study examines the influence of eco-labels on purchase intention. Acknowledging the fact that
opinion survey can measure respondents environmental friendly attitudes accurately but fail to
measure their actual behaviours, a simulation of web-based shopping was used. Participants were
randomly assigned one of four possible treatments where one of them contains no eco-label and
the other three contain three different eco-label designs. It was found that the presence of an ecolabel did induce higher rate of purchase.
Introduction
With the emergence of green consumerism, businesses have been under growing pressure of producing green
products. To some manufacturers, it is not a threat but an opportunity because it suggests that products with
environmentally friendly nature would attract consumers to buy. To convey the message that a product is
environmentally friendly, marketers have been using advertising and/or packaging as the media for communication.
When packaging is used for such purpose, certain form of eco-label on product packaging certified by a third-party
program serves as a proof of environmental performance of the product. While literature suggests that consumers
respond positively to environmental claims, many of which in the form of eco-label (e.g., Chase and Smith 1992;
Hayhurst 2000; Salzman 1991; Wiltberger 1999), the true behaviours as displayed in their actual purchases have not
been fully investigated.
This research attempted to simulate a web-based shopping environment in which how the actual purchase
intention of Chinese consumers is to be affected by the presence and absence of eco-label on product packaging was
investigated. An experimental design was employed in an attempt to enhance internal validity, and considerable
effort was made to obscure the purpose of the study in order to avoid issues related to hypothesis guessing and social
desirability bias. The context of this study is important for three reasons. First, the condition of the natural
environment in China is among our greatest global concerns (Sims, 1999; World Bank, 1997). Second, China has the
worlds largest population. Consequently, the aggregated behaviour of Chinese consumers has a tremendous
potential impact on the environment. Third, the growth of ISO 14001 EMSs in China is growing exponentially to a
point that an empirical link between eco-label and purchase intention should be established.
Literature Review
Environmental protection has become an issue of both regional and global importance (e.g., Asprion, 2000;
Dunlap et al., 1993; Dunlap and Saad, 2000; Kornblut, 2001; McDaniel and Rylander, 1993). Although surveys
typically suggest that consumers would favour green products (e.g., Bhate and Lawler, 1997; Dagnoli, 1991;
Freeman and Dagnoli, 1990), actual consumer response to green marketing efforts has often fallen short of
expectations. Reasons for the gap between reported preference for green products and the actual purchase of such
products are cited in many studies (e.g., Ellen, 1994; Morris et al., 1995; Walley and Whitehead, 1994). Some of the
explanations that have been proposed include excessive price premiums for environmentally friendly products,
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Methodology
An experimental design was used to test these hypotheses. The subjects used for this study were university
students of Chinese ethnicity in HKSAR, China, who were requested to participate in this study as part of their
coursework. Although the use of students is often considered a liability due to legitimate concerns regarding external
validity (i.e., the ability to generalize findings to more relevant populations), this is less problematic in this study
than would normally be the case. This is because students are major consumers of many products and an explicit
effort was made to select products for this experiment that would likely be purchased by students. Two hundred and
thirty-four students participated in this study. Each was randomly assigned into one of four treatment groups of
approximately sixty people each. Given the beauty of randomisation, variation between groups could be assumed
insignificant.
In order to more realistically simulate a web-based shopping experience, shopping catalogues resembling to
web pages were distributed to subjects during regular classes. These web pages like shopping catalogues were
modelled on a major supermarket chains shopping website. Shopping for such items either through catalogues or
web is sufficiently popular in a Chinese community such that the subjects were familiar with this approach.
Each respondent was informed that he/she had a budget of HK$500 (~ 65 Euros) to freely spend on the
products displayed. Altogether, there were ten product categories, as follows: potato chips, batteries, tissues,
washing powder, light bulbs, cooking oil, hairspray, fruit drinks, pain reliever, and printer paper. These categories
were selected because most of them are frequent purchases of the subjects. For each product category, there were
some different brands from which to choose. The subjects were instructed to purchase whatever they would
normally choose with the money given. They were not required to purchase any particular type of product nor were
they required to use all of the money.
A control group was established where the subjects saw no eco-label in any of the products displayed. The
other three groups were presented a particular form of eco-labels in the product description boxes of some products.
One of these groups saw the words-form eco-labels while the other one saw the picture-form eco-labels, and the last
3
Mean
57.75
85.43
Standard Deviation
59.38
77.62
t statistic
-2.109
Significance
0.037
As we can see from the result, spending on green products in the words-form eco-label group is
significantly higher than that in the control group (i.e., sig. < 0.05, mean: 27.68 higher), we can conclude
that the first hypothesis, The presence of an eco-label in words-form induces higher purchase
intention, is supported.
2)
Mean
57.75
84.57
Standard Deviation
59.38
72.71
t statistic
-2.178
Significance
0.031
As we can see from the result, spending on green products in the picture-form eco-label group is
significantly higher than that in the control group (i.e., sig. < 0.05, mean: 26.82 higher), we can conclude
that the second hypothesis, The presence of an eco-label in picture-form induces higher purchase
intention, is supported.
3)
Mean
57.75
99.55
t statistic
-2.820
Significance
0.006
As we can see from the result, spending on green products in the hybrid-form eco-label group is
significantly higher than that in the control group (i.e., sig. < 0.05, mean: 41.80 higher), we can conclude
that the third hypothesis, The presence of an eco-label in hybrid-form induces higher purchase
intention, is supported.
Discussion
We simulated a web-based shopping experience in an experimental design to keep track of the consumer
behaviour in terms of buying eco-labelled products, which is unprecedented among literature where studies have
mostly been done through asking consumers survey questions. Therefore, we would assert that this study makes a
methodological contribution to the debate on how green consumerism affects attitudes (i.e., the claimed behaviour)
versus behaviour (i.e., the actual behaviour). Clearly, in this area, the literature shows that there is a troublesome gap
between what consumers say they will do (i.e., choosing a product because of its environmentally friendly nature)
and how they actually behave (i.e., actual allocations of dollars in purchases). Accordingly, we used a controlled
experiment to measure actual, rather than claimed green behaviour. Although it is impossible to rule out all
possibilities of bias, we would assert that this study has come relatively closer to measuring actual purchasing
behaviour than previous work on the relationship between consumer behaviours and eco-labels. Moreover, this
study adds an element of generalizability to this body of evidence by studying the phenomenon in a Chinese
community and using a relatively youthful group of consumers who are purchasing day-to-day, relatively lowpriced, fast-moving consumer goods.
We would also assert that an effective eco-labelling program be accompanied by a consumer education
campaign aimed at raising the awareness of their power to influence product development and eco-labelling
programs. Depending on the context and on how much government backing there is for such an effort, it may be
possible to use a broad range of media to raise awareness. It is also important to provide consumers with the
necessary details about eco-labels and the accreditation process. The effectiveness of any eco-label would probably
diminish if the consumers are sceptical towards the environmental claims and/or do not trust the certification
organization (Teisl et al., 2002). Integrity is the key to success in any eco-labelling program.
Two limitations of this study warrant additional comment. First, this was a simulated shopping experience
where purchasers did not use their own money. Obviously, this is a relevant departure from how people may actually
behave. However, some marketing studies do provide some reassurance in this regard. For example, Gabor et al.
(1970) conducted an experiment to look at real and hypothetical shop situations. In their study, results of home
interviews were compared with those conducted outside the supermarket right after the interviewees had purchased
at least one common product. They concluded: the hypothetical shop situation method, being flexible, quick, and
cheap, can provide data of great reliability where there is a high degree of effective competition between established
brands.
Second, the use of a student sample has already been discussed. However, we might point out that the use of
students represents a trade-off between internal validity and external validity. Arguably, however, as students are
also consumers of day-to-day fast moving consumer goods, they are relevant buying decision-makers.
Conclusion
Eco-labelling has been widely accepted as a communicative instrument to convey the environmental message.
However, the effectiveness of it on consumer purchase intention has not been tested empirically. By using a
simulation of web-based shopping, it was found that an eco-label, regardless of whether it comprises of some words,
picture, or both, has positive effect on consumer purchase intention. Consequently, as many firms nowadays facing
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