Awareness and attitude of consumers on green products in Mapalana GN division, Matara, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Current rapid economic growth and consumers’ consumption pattern are the main root causes for the descent of the environment. With the environmental deterioration geared by the rapid population growth, the developing countries are recently concerning the green movement. Therefore, the present research contributes to the field by identifying the consumer awareness and attitude towards green products while evaluating the factors behind the consumers’ attitude on green products. The study was conducted to the randomly selected 150 consumers from the 939 of Mapalana Grama Niladari (GN) division and the data were gathered through directing a pre-tested structured questionnaire survey. IBM SPSS version 25 was used as the principal analytical software and the data were analyzed descriptively as well as using inferential analytical tools such as the Independent sample t-test. The study revealed that there was a significant gender difference (t=2.896, p=0.004) in willingness to pay a premium price for environmental-friendly green products in order to conserve the environment. Comparatively females (M=3.18, SD=1.156) agreed to pay more than their male counterparts in this regard (M=2.68, SD=0.937). However, there was no statistically significant gender difference in respondents’ awareness of the benefits of green products for their health (t=0.962, p=0.338) and for the environment (t=1.603, p=0.111). Moreover, there was no significant gender difference in knowledge on the ability of green products to decline the health risk (t=1.223, p=0.223) and in the level of awareness of green products towards the quality enhancements of the environment (t=1.640, p=0.103). Furthermore, the gender of the respondents was insignificant in concerning the government's responsibility in promoting manufacturing green products (t=-0.198, p=0.844). According to the Multiple linear regression, the income (β=-0.157, p=0.007) and the education level (β=-0.360, p=0.000) of the respondents have shown a significant negative contribution while the respondents’ age (p=0.338), occupation (p=0.526) and civil status (p=0.408) have not significantly contributed to the consumers’ attitudes on the green product. Hence, the research findings will be a key driver for policymakers in the agribusiness sector to promote environmental-friendly green products while considering gender and other significant attributes in particular.