Factors Behind Dissuasion to Green Products Among Young Consumers: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

The current estimated market share for green consumption is less than five percent worldwide, therefore it is very important to understand the factors that stimulate non green consumption among young consumers since this can promote environmental thinking at an early age and also to increase the demand for green products. In these circumstances, emerging countries like India have contributed very less to the consumption of green products and environmental effects. India is among the fastest growing economies in the world. With the increase in population as well as in disposable income, India is expected to see a growth in green consumption. However, that does not seem to be the case. Although, consumption of products is widely prevalent in India and has been growing steadily over the years, the same is not seen with regards to green products in particular. The present paper attempts to investigate the factors for less consumption of green products in the emerging market of India. 31 college students aged 21-25 years participated in the study. An unstructured interview technique was employed to find out the reasons for less consumption of green products among young Indian consumers. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Four main themes namely incomprehension, extortionate, limited product range and non-availability emerged out of the study. The implications of these results for policy makers are discussed at the end of the paper.