Topic: -

Green Marketing Awareness and its Impact on consumer Buying Behaviour

Literature review: -
Green Marketing
Today, many companies have accepted their responsibility not to harm the environment. So
products and production processes become cleaner and more companies ‘’go green’’, because they
realize that they can reduce pollution and increase profits at the same time. Green marketing is a
creative opportunity to innovate in ways that make a difference and at the same time achieve
business success. As business activities caused many of the environmental problems in the past and
still do, there is increasing recognition that business is vital in the process of a more ecological
sustainable society.

The role of marketing has become a matter of discussion as lifestyle and consumption patterns in
the industrialized world are a major originator of environmental damage. On the one hand, in the
marketing has been criticized for contributing to the environmental degradation by emphasizing on
consumption consequently contributing to a throwaway society and emphasizing on satisfying short
term consumer or customer want

GREEN PURCHASING BEHAVIOUR

Green consumer behavior is the behavior of an individual who considers environmental or social
issues while making purchasing or non-purchasing decisions. Green purchase behavior refers to
purchasing and consuming products that have minimal impacts on the environment. There are
different terms used interchangeably with green purchase behavior, such as green buying behavior
Environmental purchase behavior and environmentally responsible Purchase behavior.
Environmental behavior can be defined as the action of an individual or group that contributes to
the sustainable use of natural resources. Activities that Can be classified into green purchase
behavior, energy saving, waste and recycling behavior and participation in any nature related
activities.
It is notable that environmental behaviors differ from general purchase related cons under
behaviors. General purchase behavior is driven by an assessment of its benefits and costs that are of
immediate relevance solely to the individual consumer performing the behavior. By contrast,
environmentally conscious behavior is unlikely to deliver instant Personal gain or gratification, but
rather a future oriented outcome (e.g. cleaner environment) that often benefits society as a whole.
Rise of environmental concern among consumers has been viewed as .perhaps the biggest
opportunity for enterprise and invention the industrial world has ever seen. A number of factors
have been responsible for the growth of green consumerism and these include heightened
awareness of green issues among people often as a result of media Coverage; increased levels of
information available to help green consumers make informed Decisions; emergence of an
increasing number of green substitutes to traditional products; widespread use of green themes in
advertising; a shift in values towards concern for environment and society; and increased marketing
and merchandizing activity among environmental and social charities.

In my research study we will also use some elements of the functional theory of attitudes which was
firstly developed by Katz. This theory outlines that attitudes serve a function for the person‖
and they are ―determined by person‘s motives. Four functions can be identified:
The utilitarian function:
This is related to the basic principles of reward and punishment. People develop positive or negative
attitudes towards products or services when they bring them satisfaction or pain

The value expressive function:

At the opposite of the utilitarian one, this function is related to what the product or service that
consumers use say about them. Indeed this function is linked with the self concept of consumer and
implies that consumers do not use products for their own benefits but for what they
embody. As say it is linked with the consumer lifestyle. For example a teenager will buy a sport
brand shirt not because he likes the quality of the product, the features, and the comfort that
provide him but just because this product shows that he is trendy.

The ego defensive function:

These attitudes that consumers develop serve to protect them, for example, holding to attitudes
that protect yourself image. Some consumers have attitude towards eco friendly products in order
to protect from global warming and be healthy.

The knowledge function:

These attitudes that consumers develop serve their need of a world which is formed of order and
stability. This allows the individual to have a sense of control and helps to organize and structure our
experience.

Environmental sustainability is defined as a management approach that involves developing

strategies that sustain the environment and produce profits for the company. It is a crucial but
difficult social target and many companies are taking at least some actions to protect and
preserve the environment. It is also the idea that environmental objectives are not incompatible
with ongoing economic success as it is a step nearer to marketing. A green consumer is defined by
Pattie as someone who voluntarily engages in consumer practices that are regarded as
environmentally friendly by marketing academics and practitioners. Thus, green or
environmentally friendly activities deal, for instance, with energy efficient operations, better
pollution controls and recycled materials. Eco labels are a main tool used in green marketing.
Eco labels are defined as labels which identify overall environmental preference of a product or
service within a specific product or service range. So, an eco-labeled product is entitled to carry
a logo that comes with a claim that the product has been produced in accordance with certain
environmental standards. An eco- label, in contrast to green symbols or statements, has to consist of
three components, namely, the certification standard, an independent accreditation body and
independent certification bodies. Eco
labeling schemes demand independent third party certifications that the product
concerned meets the predefined standards, ensuring strict and continuous compliance with the
standard by producers. Consequently, the managing label guarantees the correctness of the claim of
the eco label (European Commission Homepage).However, notwithstanding reports that
environmental problems constituted one of the uppermost public concerns, market growth
for green products disappointingly fell short of marketers’ expectations (Wong et al., 1996). The
dramatic growth in green marketing excitements at the beginning of the 1990s hasgradually
subsided . Green marketing entered its second stage in the 1990s, when marketers started to
experience a backlash. Gradually, marketers realised that consumer concern for the environment
and a related desire for green products did not translate into purchasing behavior.
Among all the major hindrances, the main aspect contributing to the backlash against green
marketing was consumer cynicism about green products, green claims and the companies’
intention as well as practices. From the mid 1990s, consumers started to become more and more
environmentally and socially aware (Strong, 1996). Critical consumers began to
emerge as a new force of green consumerism during that period whereby they require social
responsibility from corporations. Gradually, the rise of green consumerism has led to an even
broadened consumption concept called ethical consumerism. Ethical consumerism refers to buyer
behavior that reflects a concern with the problems that arise from unethical
and unjust global trades, such as child and low paid labor, infringement of human rights, animal
testing, labor union suppressions, inequalities in trading relations with the Third World and pollution
of the environment (Strong, 1996). Both green consumerism and its subsequent ethical
consumerism are forms of symbolic consumption
because consumers consider not only individual but also social values, ideals and ideologies. Since,
the emergence of the green consumerism and ethical consumerism which arose in the mid 1990s,
consumers have started to demand a say in the production, processing and resourcing of the
products. Anticipating the continuous uprising forces of consumerism, scholars started to call for
“sustainability marketing” in the late1990s.
Sustainability marketing refers to the building and maintaining of sustainable relationships with
customers, social environment and the natural environment. In the face of the challenges, green
marketing entered a “self adjusting” mode, whereby only corporations with a true intention
for long term sustainable business development continued to stay and improve on their products.
Since 2000, green marketing has evolved into a third stage. With the implementation of more
advanced technology, stricter state enforcement on deceptive claims, government regulations and
incentives as well as closer scrutiny from various environmental organizations and the media, many
green products have greatly improved and regained consumer confidence in the 2000s. Together,
with the continuous rise of growing global concern about the environmental quality, green
marketing has gradually picked up momentum again. Some researchers postulate that green
marketing is now “making a comeback”.
Consumer Beliefs and Behaviors:
Hoyer and McInnis (2004) state that consumers’ values and beliefs need to be considered when
Examining the influences that affect purchasing decisions. Values are enduring beliefs that a
given behavior is desirable or good and include valuing the environment. Environmental values
play a primary role in pro environmental behavior: values affect people’s beliefs, which then
have influences on personal norms that lead to consumers’ pro environmental behaviors. Similarly,
Theory of Planned Behavior shows that (environmental) beliefs form attitudes towards behavior,
which is then translated into intention of behavior. The Global Environmental Survey (GOES) finds a
gradual intergenerational value shift in the postwar generation towards post materialist priorities,
likely to result in more pro environmental behavior. So, although pro environmental values do not
guarantee pro environmental behavior, it is likely that pro environmental values lead to pro
environmental behavior. However, an individual concerned about the environment does not
necessarily behave in a green way in general, or in their purchasing. This is known as the value action
gap. Koll muss and Gateman(2002) explored a range of analytical frameworks and external and
internal factors that promote pro environmental behavior and found conflicting and competing
factors related to consumers’ daily decisions. They concluded that no single definitive model
adequately explains the gap between environmental knowledge and pro environmental behavior. A
recent
study finds that people who are environmentally conscious do not necessarily behave pro
environmentally: for example, people might throw rubbish away when most people around them do
so (reactive process, as opposed to intentional decision making).

Consumer Exposure to Product Marketing Communication:

The average consumer has less opportunity to form an attitude about a green product than about a
main stream product, unless they have made a special effort to get to know the green
product, as manufacturers of environmentally improved products often make little or no green
claims in their advertising. Aspiration and associative reference groups have a strong influence on
general consumption. argue that providing information on environmental issues does not
necessarily foster pro environmental attitudes. Their research suggests that the key to
environmental education is the affective domain. It is reasonable to assume that advertising green
products using emotional content would be more successful. Advertising works well when it tries to
appeal to those values that drive consumer decision processes. As consumers often start from a low
information base on sustainable consumption, their internal search may fail to supply the
information necessary for decision making. If an external search is necessary, this involves high
effort.

Objectives: -
1. To assess the awareness of consumer regarding green products
2. To analyse the altitude and behaviour of Indian consumers towards green products
3. To identify obstacles that respondents perceive to come in the way of adopting green
lifestyle
4. To examine dealer’s perception towards green marketing
5. To identify the factors motivating consumers opting for green marketing
Questionnaire: -
Section – I

Demographic Profile

City:

Age: 18-25 Years ( ) 26-40 Years ( )

41-55 Years ( ) 56 Years & above ( )

Gender: Male ( ) Female ( )

Educational Qualification: Under graduate ( ) Graduate ( )

Post graduate ( ) Doctorate ( )

Employment status: In service ( ) Own Business ( )

Student ( ) Homemaker ( )

Monthly income: Less than 10000 ( ) 10001-25000 ( )

25001- 50000 ( ) 50001- 75000 ( )

75001- 100000 ( ) More than 100000 ( )

Marital status: Married ( ) Unmarried ( )

Children: One ( ) Two ( )

3 & above ( ) None ( )

 Section – II

1) How would you describe your level of awareness about Green products?

Very low

Low

Average

High

Very high

2) How would you describe your level of awareness about following dimensions of green
products?

Sr. Statements Very Low Average High Very High

No. Low
1 I am aware of the benefits of green
products for health

2 I am aware of the benefits of green

products for environment

3 I am aware of various brands

offering green products

4 I am aware of the point of purchase

for green product

5 I am aware of various symbols/

certification/ other identifiers
which declare as the green product
3) Please rank the following sources of awareness for their effectiveness in providing information
regarding green products? (assign ranks from 1-7, where rank 1 depicts most effective source of
awareness and rank 7 depicts least effective)

Sr. No. Sources Rank

1 T. V
2 Magazines
3 Internet Ads
4 Friends/ Relatives
5 Newspaper
6 Seminars/Conferences
7 Super Market staff

Section – III

4) Please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement with each of the statements on a five
point scale as given below:

SD = strongly disagree

D = disagree

UD = undecided

A = agree

SA = strongly agree

Sr. Statements SD D UD A SA
No.
1 Deterioration of the environment is a serious issue
and Green products can contribute in saving the
environment.
2 I prefer green products over non green products.
3 Manufacturing/Production of green products is
totally environment friendly.
4 Environment deterioration is bound to happen and
green products cannot help in protecting it.
5 Green products and non green products are alike.
6 Manufacturing of green products must be highly
subsidized so that more companies can enter into
manufacturing of green products.
7 Green products are true to their environment
friendly claims.
Sr. No. Statements SD D UD A UA
8 Using green products gives a sense of satisfaction.

9 I want to be a part of green movement by using

green products.
10 I am doubtful about the working performance of
green products.
11 I would agree to pay even extra price for
environment friendly products to save our
environment.
12 Claims of green products about health benefits are
usually exaggerated.
13 State Governments should make rigorous efforts to
promote manufacturing and marketing of green
products.
14 Performance of green products justifies its price.

5) Please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement with each of the statements on a five
point scale as given below:

SD = strongly disagree

D = disagree

UD = undecided

A = agree

SA = strongly agree

Sr. No. Statements SD D UD A SA

1 I prefer green products because the word ‘Green’
sounds good.
2 I prefer green products because I want to contribute
in saving my planet earth.
3 While purchasing green products I thoroughly read
label to see if contents are environmentally safe.
4 I prefer to buy products made or packaged in
recycled materials.
5 I prefer to buy products in packages that can be
refilled.
6 I avoid buying products from companies which are
not environmentally responsible.
7 Price of green product is the first thing I look into
before taking decision to purchase it.
 Sr. No. Statements SD D UD A SA
8 Before buying green products I compare its price
with traditional products.
9 I would purchase green products if they are easily
available.
10 I prefer to switch the store/retail outlet if green
product is not available there, than not to buy or buy
a substitute of it.
11 I buy green products, if they are available at the
retail outlets I personally believe in.
12 I would pay extra for green products just because
they are safe for my health.
13 Using green products is a status symbol.
14 I use green products because my friends and
colleagues use the same.

6) How will you describe your usage of green products?

Sr. No. Product categories I use I don’t use

1 Organic food
2 Organic clothes
3 Cosmetics and personal care products
4 Electrical appliances

7) If you use green products, what is your motive? Rank motives as per the importance? (attempt
if you use green products)

Sr. No. Motive Rank

1 Concern for Health
2 Concern for status
3 Concern for the environment
4 To use better quality products

8) From where do you prefer to buy green products? Rank the point of purchases as per your
preference? (Attempt if you use green products)

Sr. No. Point of purchase Rank

1 Retail Malls
2 Local shops
3 Internet
4 Teleshopping
5 Specialized shops/units
6 Factory Outlet
9) How frequently do you buy Green products? (Attempt if you use green products)

 Once a Week
 Once a Fortnight
 Once a Month
 Once a Year
 Regularly when needed

10) Do you repeat your purchase of Green products? (Attempt if you use green products)

 Not at all
 Some times
 Often
 Always

11) How will you describe your level of satisfaction regarding green products? (attempt if you use
green products)

 Very Much dissatisfied

 Dissatisfied
 Neutral
 Satisfied
 Very Much satisfied

12) How would you express your willingness to recommend green products to friends and
relatives? (Attempt if you use green products)

 Very much Unwilling

 Willing
 Neutral
 Willing
 Very much willing
13) If you don’t use Green products please rate your reasons for non usage

SD = strongly disagree

D = disagree

UD = undecided

A = agree

SA = strongly agree

Sr. Statements SD D UD A SA
No.
1 Lack of awareness about green products.
2 Green products are very expensive.
3 Green products are not promoted properly.
4 Lack of confidence in the performance of green
products
5 Green products are not available in full range
of variety
6 Green products are not easily available in
shopping outlets
7 Labels of green products are not informative,
they do not fully inform about their greenness.

14) If you don’t use green products. Will you consider using green products in the future?

 Not at all
 Intend to consider
 Consider but not in the immediate future
 Consider to use sometimes
 Consider to use always
 Section – IV

15) Which of the following marketing strategies used for green products is more effective in
influencing your behavior as a consumer of green products. Please rank the strategies given as per
your opinion:

Sr. No. Marketing Strategies Rank

1 Advertisements using Green Themes
2 Self Explanatory Labels
3 Educational Campaigns
4 Educational Campaigns

16) For the marketing strategies to be more effective in influencing your behavior as a consumer
of green products what is your response to these statements. Please indicate your level of
agreement or disagreement with each of the statements on a five point scale as given below:

SD = strongly disagree

D = disagree

UD = undecided

A = agree

SA = strongly agree

Sr. No. Statements SD D UD A SA

1 Ads with green themes and message about
saving the environment are good for making
people aware about green products
2 Product labels are good source of information
to see the green contents of the product.

3 Ads conveying message about health and

safety benefits of green products generate
awareness regarding how green products are
better for health as well as environment.
4 Green labels explaining the greenness of the
product is good way of creating awareness
about a green product.
5 Educational campaigns are good strategy to
spread information about green products.
6 Products advertised in the ads using green
themes are trustworthy.
7 Ads should tell how the product is green.
Sr. No. Statements SD D UD A SA
8 Green products should be marketed in
environment friendly manner i.e. No print ads,
no hoardings, recycled packaging.

9 Information given on product label is

trustworthy.
10 Using educational marketing messages
regarding greenness of the product on the label
helps in building consumer’s confidence in the
product.
11 While marketing the green product information
about the performance of the green product
should also be given along.

12 Ads promoting green products only talk about

the greenness of the product not about how
they perform.
13 Taking certifications which declare a product as
green is a good way of marketing green
products.
14 I have more confidence in unadvertised green
products than in advertised ones**.
Research Methodology: -
Sampling - Convenience sampling

Sample size – 50

Primary data collection

Through direct interview and questionnaire