Title: Concern for the environment and awareness of eco-friendly products: a study of urban Indian consumers

Authors: Suman Kharbanda; N.P. Singh; Kavita Sharma

Addresses: Department of Commerce, Shivaji College, University of Delhi, Ring Road, Raja Garden, New Delhi110027, India ' School of Business Management and Commerce, MVN University, Palwal, Haryana, India ' Department of Commerce, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, India

Abstract: This quantitative study assesses the awareness of eco-friendly products and their eco-labels among urban Indian consumers. Based on an analysis of a sample of 504 urban Indian consumers, this cross-sectional study concludes that concern for environment (CFE) and eco-literacy are two important determinants of awareness on eco-friendly (green) products. Two stage structural equation model (SEM) and hypothesis testing was used in this research to arrive at conclusions. To meet the challenge of promoting sustainable consumption, it is vital to propagate the seriousness of environmental issues and induce concern for the environment among consumers. The study also advocates that the policymakers need to be more focused on educating consumers in India about importance of eco-labels used on green products. This strategy could be an important contribution to achieving UN sustainable development goal (SDG) 12.8 that aims to ensure that by 2030, people everywhere are aware of sustainable consumption.

Keywords: eco-friendly products; concern for environment; CFE; awareness; sustainable consumption; eco literacy; EL; eco-labels; urban Indian; ECO Mark; green products.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSSOC.2022.124865

International Journal of Sustainable Society, 2022 Vol.14 No.2, pp.138 - 164

Received: 23 Feb 2022
Received in revised form: 21 Apr 2022
Accepted: 29 May 2022
Published online: 11 Aug 2022 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article