The effect of consumer environmental consciousness and environmental friendliness on brand preference

Nageshri B Karhade , Supriya Pawar, Pratima Patil Maratha Mandirs Babasaheb Gawde Institute Of Management, Mumbai University, India nageshri@msn.com,supriyapawar5@gmail.com, pppratimapatil@gmail.com
Abstract-Increasingly, consumers are becoming more knowledgeable about the environment and reflecting this knowledge in their decisions to buy green products. While previous research on the topic has generally examined green consumption related to a single product label, numerous questions exist about why consumers choose various green products and services, in addition to why they utilize multiple eco-labels, and what factors encourage potential eco-label users to buy green. We address these concerns by examining individuals actual and anticipated green consumption as it relates to their trust of various sources to provide them with environmental information, environmental knowledge, and personal affect towards the environment. Amongst other things, the result suggests that: Individuals who either: a) understand more about climate change issues; b) feel more empowered to address these issues or c) trust government and environmental groups to provide information about climate change; are more likely to engage in green consumption and use environmental labels. This is true even for individuals who are not presently using environmental labels in their purchasing decisions. Individuals who are not using environmental labels in their purchasing decisions are more likely to do so if they have a greater sense of personal risk related to climate change Private business is largely impotent in that green consumers are no more or no less likely to trust their information about climate change. These results highlight both the importance of environmental education and awareness to empower customers pro -environmental behaviors, and the need for business interested to differentiate their products and tap into the green market to articulate coalitions with trustholders such as government and environmental NGOs in order to legitimate their green credentials.