Eco-Marks and Green Consumer Behaviour: A Review of Evidence on Awareness, Trust and Purchase Behaviour

Abstract

Environmental concerns have increasingly influenced business practices and consumer decision-making. Growing awareness of pollution, resource depletion, waste generation and other environmental problems has encouraged organisations to incorporate environmental considerations into their products, production processes and marketing communication. This development has contributed to the growth of green marketing, through which businesses seek to communicate environmental benefits and encourage consumers to consider environmental factors while making purchasing decisions. Within green marketing, eco-marks and eco-labels have an important informational function. Consumers generally cannot directly observe many of the environmental characteristics claimed for a product. An eco-mark can therefore act as a signal by communicating that a product possesses particular environmental attributes or satisfies specified environmental criteria. However, the existence of an eco-mark does not necessarily mean that consumers will purchase the labelled product. Its influence may depend upon whether consumers notice the label, understand its meaning, trust the information and consider the environmental attribute relevant to their purchase decision.