Defining the green consumer : a legitimisation of the process of marketing products with lower environmental impacts

Abstract

Everything manufactured has an impact on the environment, either by consuming unrenewable resources as raw materials, or consuming energy, or adding excess nutrients to soils and waterways, or generating greenhouse gasses, wastes or pollutants. Many environmental critics believe that the most effective way to reduce this damage is to regulate to force manufacturers to produce and distribute goods with lower environmental impacts. Others believe that consumers should be educated to demand these improvements from manufacturers. The author of this thesis believes the most effective way to persuade the private sector to reduce the environmental impacts of its products would be to convince them that this would be profitable. At this point in time, most Australian manufacturers do not believe this to be the case, otherwise there would be many more green products in the marketplace. Many marketers have a negative attitude to green marketing, while others who would like to investigate the potential of the green market lack the data to do so. The original research for this thesis takes the form of a commercial market segmentation study designed to analyse the green market and provide answers to the following questions : Which segment or segments of the Australian population are actual or potential green consumers? What are their motivations, attitudes and buying habits? What new products would they welcome in the future? The findings of the research are that at least 50 percent of the Australian market has made considerable behavioural adjustments for environmental reasons and would welcome greener products. Marketers can therefore only ignore the green market at the risk of ignoring the needs and wants of 50 percent of the population. Thus, the original research provides a map of the Australian Green Market which will legitimise the corporate decision, develop and promote greener products

Date of Award	1996
Original language	English