Authors: Aradhya Taneja, Dr. Mausmi Goel
Abstract: Consumers with a strong environmental and ethical awareness are more and more present in the global market of today. This work is addressing the effect of ecologically oriented green marketing activities on consumer perception as well as on purchase intention. The study is based on a comprehensive empirical survey of 40 respondents with a diverse demographic and occupational background. A mixed-methods approach along with a structured questionnaire was used to analyze nine essential aspects of green consumer behavior. Among these aspects were eco-friendly brand recommendations, concerns regarding greenwashing, sustainability awareness, the influence of packaging, and the role of green marketing in solving environmental issues. The results point to a considerable positive relation between perceived sustainability and the intention to buy. More than half of the respondents (57.5%) indicated that product sustainability "Agree" with their purchase decisions. Nevertheless, there is also a significant gap between perception and behavior uncovered by the study. While 92.3% of consumers are agreeing or strongly agreeing with the statement that brands exaggerate environment-related claims, only 25.6% of them are actively and carefully checking brand authenticity. The research finds that environmental concern (30%), brand reputation (30%), and product quality (20%) are the major factors that lead to eco-friendly purchase behavior, whereas eco-friendly packaging is the reason behind 61.5% of the purchase decisions. This research has important implications for the design and implementation of green marketing campaigns that are transparent, verifiable, and able to inspire the necessary consumer education process to close the perception-behavior gap of sustainable consumption.
