Linking green skepticism to green purchase behavior on personal care products in Indonesia

Abstract

According to the goal of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) number 12, the producer is responsible for producing a better-quality product while minimizing natural resources and toxic materials. Along with that, the consumer’s awareness of buying environmentally friendly products also increases. However, sometimes there are over claims from manufacturers who claim their products as eco-labels or green products so that sometimes it raises skepticism from consumers. Based on that, the aims of this research is to examine the outcome of green skepticism as one of the inhibitors toward green product purchase intention and also to discuss the role of environmental knowledge and concern as mediator, in the context of personal care products in Indonesia. An online survey managed to collect 177 respondents domiciled in Indonesia, and being analyzed by SEM. By using the ABC Theory framework, this study indicates that green skepticism reduces consumer’s intention to purchase green personal care products. On the other hand, both environmental knowledge and environmental concerns increase customers’ green purchase intentions directly. Furthermore, they are founded to mediate the relationship between green skepticism and green purchase intentions. This research will benefit academic resource for future research, practitioners in the related fields, and the environment.