Profiling Green Consumer Characteristics: An Eternal Quandary

Abstract

It is an irrefutable fact that consumers play an undeniable role in any country's sustainability index advancement. There is evidence that thirty to forty percent of environmental degradation is caused by private household consumption activities. Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of this fact and have started exhibiting concerns towards environmental degradation. These pressures have made business organizations realize that resisting the move towards sustainability is no more viable. Marketers need to be aware of this behavioral change so as to incorporate changes into their marketing strategies befitting the demand of consumers. This led to researchers attempting to profile the characteristics of a green consumer, to facilitate marketers in drawing up appropriate green marketing strategies. This theoretical paper reviews the past attempts made to profile the green consumer characteristics and tries to highlight the complexities involved in the process. 