Why aren't green consumers buying green products
With all the awareness and social rhetoric around the need to reduce our environmental impact, it is natural to assume that green products and services are running a good trade.
Why are ‘green’ consumers not buying ‘green’ products?
Dr Micael-Lee Johnstone, from the School of Marketing & International Business
With all the awareness and social rhetoric around the need to reduce our environmental impact, it is natural to assume that green products and services are running a good trade.
However, multiple studies have found that consumers' purchasing habits do not necessarily match their attitudes when it comes to being environmentally-friendly.
School of Marketing and International Business lecturer Dr Micael-Lee Johnstone has investigated some of the reasons behind this contradiction.
Along with fellow researcher Dr Lay Peng Tan from Macquarie University, Dr Johnstone conducted several focus groups to gain a greater understanding of consumers' green consumptive habits and their perceptions of green products.
"One of the strongest themes to emerge from our research is the perception that it is too hard to be green, which can lead to inaction," Dr Johnstone says.
"According to our focus groups, being environmentally conscious takes time, effort and money. There is also a perception that one needs to be knowledgeable, live in the right place, have self-discipline and be prepared to make personal sacrifices to be green."
Some factors were internal; for example, some consumers didn’t feel ready to be green as they thought doing so would require giving up daily niceties.
Others felt external factors, such as the unavailability of green products, or the un-environmental habits of their housemates, made it more difficult to make green choices.
"Green reservations" a factor in consumer choices
Another major reason for eco-conscious consumers not buying eco-friendly products is what Dr Johnstone and Dr Tan dubbed "green reservations".
Some consumers do not think choosing green products will make a difference. Rather, they doubt the impact their choices will have on the environment.
Again, this notion is underpinned by multiple reasonings such as not perceiving a difference between green products and other products, an inability to identify the future consequences of their actions and believing one person’s efforts doesn’t make a difference.
Another reason is the growth of greenwash, which occurs when consumers are misled to believe that a company is participating in green practices or the product has environmental benefits, subsequently making it difficult for consumers to identify legitimate green products.
Dr Johnstone’s research goes further by making recommendations to help close the gap between consumers' attitudes and purchasing choices.
"The green hard sell is not working. Efforts should be made to make green appear easy, attainable and nonexclusive.
"Essentially, we need to work on normalising it because consumers are more likely to adopt behaviours and buy products that they perceive to be mainstream and part of the social norm."
Government regulation or recognised accreditation schemes would also make it easier for consumers to choose eco-friendly products, she says.
- Link to the journal article by Dr Johnstone and Dr Tan: Exploring the Gap Between Consumers' Green Rhetoric and Purchasing Behaviour