Consumer Reliability on their Purchase of Green Products

Abstract

Green marketing and products have been increasingly discussed trend within the field of business. As a global issue, climate change has placed a heavy ethical burden on the consumer to take actions to mitigate it. From a marketing perspective, experts should have considered whether this burden resulted in consumers misrepresenting their purchasing of environmentally conscious - green- products. The objectives of the study were grounded in determining whether consumers would consistently claim to conduct environmentally friendly purchasing, as well as taking an action beyond consumption. There was also an attempt to account for cultural and age affected variables in participants responses. These objectives were then realized through a primary source in the form of a survey. Participants were asked to answer 12 multiple choice questions while also disclosing their age and whether they were a national of Finland. The results displayed clear inconsistencies in the participants stances on green products. While many claimed to support specific actions to improve environmental stands, fewer supported governmental regulation in response and even fewer had voted in the first place. Conclusions could not be drawn based on age, but nationality had an impact on participant stances. Marketers had to be wary of studies on the impacts of green marketing when it is not directly paired with data on purchasing behavior. Consumers had an incentive to misrepresent the extent of their green consumption, and studies conducted at different times and locations would likely not represent the reactions in the marketer’s target group.