Purchasing Decision Making among Filipino Middle Income Household Heads: How Green is it?

Abstract

Abstract - This study examines the extent by which urban middle income household heads in Cebu City, Philippines, incorporate environment impact into their purchasing decisions. The objectives of the study are to find out: (1) the degree of importance the participants give to environmental impact as a purchase consideration; (2) the interest of participants’ to purchase an environment-friendly product when made available; and, (3) whether environmental impact as a purchase consideration is related to the participants’ interest in purchasing an environment friendly product. The results of the face-to-face structured survey participated by 500 household heads from the top ten most populated barangays in Cebu City show that environmental impact ranked third in order of importance among five purchase criteria, trailing behind price and product effectiveness. Sixty eight percent (68%) expressed their interest to purchase an environment friendly laundry product if made available in the market and if marketed as “environment friendly.” The correlation analyses show a moderately positive significant relationship between environment impact as a purchase criterion and the level of interest in purchasing an environment friendly laundry product. Implications to policy makers, marketers and environmental advocates in terms of promoting purchasing and consumption behaviors that care for the environment are presented. Keywords - green purchasing, green consumption, eco-friendly products, consumer environmentalism