Consumer Decision-making in Green Products Industry - Case Study Example

Name: Professor: Course: Semester: Date: Table of Contents Consumer decision-making in ‘green’ products industry 3 1 Introduction 3 2 Green products 4 3 Motivations 5 3.1 Health concerns 5 3.2 Desire to support local farms 6 3.3 Environment and climate concerns 6 3.4 Taste and preference 7 3.5 Safety 7 4 Recommendations to green companies 8 5 Conclusion 10 References 11 Consumer decision-making in ‘green’ products industry 1 Introduction Towards the end of the 20th century the global population had grown to over 6 billion inhabitants. This growth means a lot of pressure on natural resources such that the traditional production methods which essentially did not involve use of harmful chemicals can not be relied on to meet the demand for consumer products. To ensure consumers get products such as food and general consumer products, manufactures and research institutions have had to employ technology and chemicals to increase yields in farms and value of some consumer products (D'Souza, Taghian, Lamb, & Peretiatkos, 2006). However some chemicals in these products have been blamed for increase in cancer cases in humans, contribution to global warming and destruction of environment. Some farming and production practices have also been blamed for degrading the environment. In light of this understanding, there is a growing demand for ‘green’ products or essentially products with less chemicals or have been produced organically (D'Souza & Taghian, 2005). This demand stems from varied motivations such as health concerns and others that will be discussed in this paper. The paper will also analyze the popular products within this industry and who are the target consumers. Finally the paper will recommend practical marketing strategies for companies in the ‘green’ industry. 2 Green products Depending on various consumer concerns and convictions the industry comprises variety of commodities all claiming to have not chemical additives or hormone interaction at any point of their production (Tsakiridou, Boutsouki, Zotos, & Mattas, 2012). The green products are closely linked but should not be confused with eco-friendly products which are a range of products which also claim to have the least negative impact on the environment, while green products majorly consist of consumer products which have a direct effect on the health of humans. The eco friendly products may not necessarily have a direct effect on consumers such as cars emitting ozone depleting gases. Some of the products in the range of green products which in many countries today may also fall into the organic products category include but not limited to (Chen & Chang, 2013): Grocery Dairies Beauty enhancement products Food products Detergents These are the most popular products with consumers today. The beauty products are viewed to have a direct impact on the skins of the people who are using the beauty products. Beauty products and especially lotions and facial creams have been blamed of exposing consumers to harmful radiation through eroding the skin ability to cope with adverse climate conditions such as harmful sun radiation and also pathogens from environment (Tsakiridou, Boutsouki, Zotos, & Mattas, 2012). The general contention amongst the concerned consumers is that some chemicals contribute to this exposure and that others actually are carcinogenic. The organic beauty products don’t have these chemicals and are thus safe to these consumers or so they believe. The food, grocery and dairy also have direct contact with human body to nourish. These products are treated with very much concern by consumers (Chen & Chang, 2013). Basically the consumers of organic food and dairy feel they are doing justice to their bodies by taking chemical free products. They feel that they are also contributing to a sustainable eco system which is the earth (Faber, 2006). 3 Motivations Most of the organic or green products consumers and especially food tend to be young people who are well-educated. This is the category of the population that is more informed about the presumed negative effects of taking food or using consumer products with a lot of chemical use in growing or processing the products. Consumers over the age of 65 years are less likely going to prefer organic food than younger population. The young adults group of 25 to 35 years is the group that has specifically shown great attention to the chemical content of foods (Faber, 2006). They have varied motivations as to why they prefer buying the organic or ‘green’ products as discussed in the following sub-topics 3.1 Health concerns Many young parents who buy organic food have a concern for the health of their children. Green food or organic food for that matter is viewed to have a lot of nutrients and natural elements that contribute to the healthy growth of their kids and the wellbeing of the parents too. These consumers are also very much concerned with the harmful effects on humans the pesticides, hormones and antibiotics used in the production of conventional foods may have. To keep their kids and themselves free form the risk of acquiring chronic ailments and other health conditions, it is viewed as wise to keep of chemically produced food and highly processed food a with artificial ingredients and preservatives (Tsakiridou, Boutsouki, Zotos, & Mattas, 2012). Consumers of beauty products are also very much concerned about the effect some products may have on their skins and health in general. It is no longer the end justifies the means attitude with these consumers considering the rise and rise of skin cancer cases around the world. In essence these consumers are very much pleased by a product that works well and contains natural ingredients which have little or no effects on their health (Tsakiridou, Boutsouki, Zotos, & Mattas, 2012). 3.2 Desire to support local farms Around 37% consumers of organic products in the U.S and especially food products buy organic food to support local farms in their areas (United States Department of Agriculture, 2013). These can be attributed to the fact that communities want to support themselves by buying from each other. This grows their local economy and financial independence as opposed to benefit large retailers and farms that are not in their locality (Vanzetti & Wynen, 2002). 3.3 Environment and climate concerns This is another major motivation especially in Europe and North America for the rising demand in organic or green products. There is a widely held belief amongst the population in these regions that products with harmful products or those that have been produced using certain chemical have a major effect on the environment. These are the products that have been blamed largely for global warming whereby release of harmful gases like nitrogen is having a great contribution to the depletion of ozone layer leading to rising temperatures around the world which will eventually have major climatic implications (Chen & Chang, 2013). The organic products are viewed as having little effect on the environment if any. These products are produced naturally meaning little chemical and harmful gases release. Through natural production, gases are released gradually to the environment and in the right chemical compounds meaning less effect on environment. Packaging is also a major issue since people want their products packaged in material that easily decomposes into the environment without harmful effects (Biemans, 2011). 3.4 Taste and preference The use of chemicals in the production process is believed to reduce some natural properties of food products. Some consumers of organic food claim their preference to the organic food is because the organic food products tastes better that the chemically produced food products. This contention is actually driving the demand for naturally produced vegetables and herbs in the mainstream retail chains such as Woolworths (Cavicchi, 2012). 3.5 Safety By taking organic food products, the consumers of organic food believe they are reducing the uptake of harmful toxins in to their body which have long terms well being issues such as ability of the body cells to regenerate and keep the body strong and healthy as age takes its toll. The harmful toxins are also blamed for playing a big role in development of various ailments in the body such as stomach related problems. The planting and growing vegetables the conventional ways involves a lot pesticides and herbicides to control pests and weeds. There are also chemicals to enhance desired properties like the colour of vegetables or the size. The chemicals used usually leave some residue in the products. The products can be harmful to human bodies. Some have actually been labeled carcinogenic and some countries have prohibited their use. Consumers of organic food are largely concerned about these chemical residues in their products and will thus prefer the organic products (D'Souza, Taghian, Lamb, & Peretiatkos, 2006). 4 Recommendations to green companies As consumers go into buying green or otherwise held less impact commodities grown and produced with less chemicals it is posing a challenge to retailers especially grocery products retailers who have to meet the growing demand. According to (Cavicchi, 2012) the major problems with the green products are their availability and prices. However the consumers are willing to pay more for the products provided they meet their chemical free expectations. A company dealing with such products should therefore not worry about the pricing of the product. What the company should be much concerned with is communicating to the target market that is having prior knowledge of the benefits or such products. The company should endeavor to inform the target market that they have the product and also where they sourced the products. Categorizing the products is very important as not everybody is giving the green concern much attention. In fact in the U.S alone the sales of organic food just reached $27 billion for the year 2012 (United States Department of Agriculture, 2013). Although the trend is showing a growing demand for the products only a small percentage of consumers are demanding of the organic products considering the high prices the products come with. It is therefore essential to categorize the products and have their different prices. The consumers will choose them depending on the prior knowledge or motivation they have since there are varied motivations as to why the consumers buy the products (Chen & Chang, 2013). D'Souza, Taghian, Lamb, & Peretiatkos (2006) suggest that a company should engage in the campaign to show their products don’t have harmful effects on the environment since environment concern is very much a constant motivating factor in many consumer markets. Everyone is concerned with the changing climatic conditions and therefore wants to see that the big companies are also concerned about climate change and not just profitability. This position should be reflected in the packaging which should predominantly feature the green colour and the organic properties message conspicuously appearing on the packaging, the advertisements either in print or TV commercials should constantly feature the organic chemical free properties of the products since the educated target market already knows the benefits and don’t need to be told the benefits. The major idea should be to gain the trust of the consumers as there are many manufacturers claiming their products are organic while they have used substantial amounts of chemicals and hormones in production of their products. A company in the green industry should then ensure they are accredited by a respected body and keep its production methods open and transparent to their consumers. 5 Conclusion The 21st century more than any other era in human society has seen consumers more concerned about the use of chemicals in production of consumer products. This may be attributed to the rise, of chronic diseases such as cancer which have a strong link to synthetic elements in production process. It has also been as a result of growing concern of global warming in the world. Consumers want to buy whatever they believe has little effect on their health and the environment. Companies are repositioning to show their commitment to sustainable production and care for environment. Recently we have companies dealing exclusively in ‘green’ products. To succeed in this market it is important to get the motivations that drive the target market to buy these ‘green’ products. References Biemans, S. Z. 2011. Polish consumers food choices and beliefs about organic food. British Food Journal, (113)1 , pp. 458-472. Cavicchi, A. 2012. The new rules of green marketing. Strategies, tools,and inspiration for sustainable branding. Journal of Consumer Marketing, (29)4 , pp. 152-170. Chen, Y. S., & Chang, C. H. 2013. Towards the green trust: The influences of green perceived quality, green perceived risk, and green satisfaction. Management Decision, (51)1 ,pp. 512-523. D'Souza, C., & Taghian, M. 2005. Green advertising effects on attitude and chice of advertising themes. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, (24)3 , pp. 45-59. D'Souza, C., Taghian, M., Lamb, P., & Peretiatkos, R. 2006. Green products and corprate strategy. Society and Business Review ,pp. 101-112. Faber, S. 2006. Demand for Organic Food Growing Faster than Domestic Supply. [online]March 1. available at Organic Consumers Association: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_111.cfm [Accessed 16 May 2013] Tsakiridou, E., Boutsouki, C., Zotos, Y., & Mattas, K. 2012. Attitudes and behaviors towards organic products: an explaratory study. International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management,( 114 ), pp.235-243. United States Department of Agriculture. 2013. Consumer demand drives growth in the organic food sector . Retrieved May 16, 2013, from United States Department of Agriculture: http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/detail.aspx?chartId=35003&ref=collection Vanzetti, D., & Wynen, E. 2002. Does it make sense to buy locally produced organic products? Advances in the Economics of Environmental resources Read More