Transition to sustainability is a long-term challenge which should also actively engage consumers, as consumption causes environmental stress. In order to understand how consumers adopt eco-products, we conducted an extensive literature review of green consumerism and presented findings of 47 previous research works. In addition, this study’s aim was to explore whether consumers remain only concerned about the environment or whether they actually make a difference. Moreover, we examined gender differences. Because the relationship between consumers’ environmental concern and purchase intention is not straightforward, we aimed to explore the effect of consumers’ environmental concern on their purchase intention. The purpose of this paper was to explore how consumers’ familiarity with and consciousness of eco-products and their perceived sense of environmental responsibility mediate the relationship between consumers’ environmental concern and their purchase intention. We used structural equation modeling to test the proposed conceptual model based on a sample of 705 Slovenian consumers. Our findings suggest that all the above-mentioned constructs mediate the relationship between consumers’ environmental concern and their purchase intention in relation to eco-products. However, consumers’ consciousness of eco-products has the greatest effect in channeling environmental concern into purchase intention of eco-products. In addition, the findings indicate that female consumers express greater environmental concern, consciousness of eco-products, and perceived environmental responsibility than male consumers. The paper concludes with policy and managerial implications, theoretical implications, limitations of the study, and future research directions based on the findings of consumers’ perspectives.
Motivated by the growing worldwide concern for sustainable development, in this study, we explore the antecedents of green consumerism in an economy driven by environmental sustainability concerns. Drawing on a survey of 705 Slovenian consumers, we find that consumers' environmental commitment, perception of eco‐products, and perception of barriers to be green all positively affect the green purchase intention, which in turn positively and significantly affects consumers' purchase of eco‐products. The findings further show that consumers' environmental commitment and perception of eco‐products are the strongest determinants of the green purchase intention. In addition, consumers' demographics determine their perceptions of eco‐products, environmental commitment, and green purchase intention. Implications for marketing practice are provided.
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