A STUDY ON

PEOPLES WILLINGNESS TO CHANGE

TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE FAST-MOVING
CONSUMER GOODS

A PROJECT REPORT

BACHELOR OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

SUBMITTED TO
DON BOSCO COLLEGE, KURLA

SUBMITTED BY
Name of Student
Rian Pinto

SUPERVISED BY
Prof. Tanishia Lobo

February 2020

MUMBAI UNIVERSITY
 A STUDY ON
PEOPLE’S WILLINGNESS TO CHANGE
TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE FAST-MOVING
CONSUMER GOODS

A PROJECT REPORT

BACHELOR OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

SUBMITTED TO
DON BOSCO COLLEGE, KURLA

SUBMITTED BY
Name of Student University Roll No.
Rian Pinto 1152534

SUPERVISED BY
Prof. Tanishia Lobo

February 2020

MUMBAI UNIVERSITY

CERTIFICATE
I hereby certify that the work which is being presented in the BMS Project Report entitled “A
Study On People’s Willingness To Change Towards Sustainable Fast-Moving Consumer
Goods”, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the Bachelor of
Management Studies is submitted to University of Mumbai is an authentic record of my own
work carried out during a period from November 2019 to February 2020 (VI Semester)
under the supervision of Prof. Tanishia Lobo, BMS Department.
The matter presented in this Project Report has not been submitted by me for the award of any
other degree elsewhere.

Signature of Student
Rian Pinto (1152534),

This is to certify that the above statement made by the student is correct to the best of my
knowledge.

Signature of Guide Signature of External Guide

Name: Prof. Tanishia Lobo Name
Date Date

Signature of HOD Signature of Principal

Name: Dr Mamatha D’souza Name: Parvathi Venkatesh
Date Date

Seal Of College

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

To list who all have helped me is difficult because they are so numerous and the depth is so
enormous.

I would like to acknowledge the following as being idealistic channels and fresh dimensions in
the completion of this project.
I take this opportunity to thank the University of Mumbai for giving me chance to do this
project.

I would like to thank my Principal, Dr. Parvathi Venkatesh for providing the necessary
facilities required for completion of this project.

I take this opportunity to thank our HOD, Dr. Mamatha D’souza, for her moral support and
guidance.

I would also like to express my sincere gratitude towards my project guide Prof. Tanishia
Lobo whose guidance and care made the project successful.

I would like to thank my College Library, for having provided various reference books and
magazines related to my project.

Lastly, I would like to thank each and every person who directly or indirectly helped me in the
completion of the project especially my Parents and Peers who supported me throughout my
project.

Signature of Student
Rian Pinto

ABSTRACT

Climate change and global warming have led to change in lifestyle and the goods that
people purchase on a daily basis. People are trying to reduce their carbon footprint in order to
save the environment. Many organizations are taking note of this change in the market and are
slowly innovating and introducing eco-friendly products in the market. People are have started
thinking about the future generations and how their actions are impacting their future,
according to recent studies scientist say that we have about 10 years to fix the damage that we
have cause to the environment, after that anything that we do will have no effect basically we
would have passed the point of no return.
 This study is conducted to find out if people are aware of the green products in the
market and are willing to adopt such products even if they are priced at a premium. The
purpose also extends to see if the public is satisfied with the amount of eco-friendly already
available in the market or if they feel that companies could do more and provide a wider array
of products in the market. It is also to see if people think that the government is doing enough
to promote the use of eco-friendly products and if they feel that enough subsidies are provided
to those organisations that deal with the selling of eco-friendly products.

Through this study we will come to know the potential growth of this market share in
the future and know exactly what consumers wants and target those needs of the consumer.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Sr. No Content Page No.

1 Title i
2 Certificate ii
3 Acknowledgement iii
4 Abstract iv
 5 Table of Contents v
6 List of Figures vi

Chapter Content Page No.

1 Introduction 1
2 Literature Review 9
3 Research Methodology 16
4 Data Analysis and Interpretation 18
5 Conclusion 38
References 42
Annexure 1 43
Annexure 2 46

TABLE OF FIGURES

Sr. No. Figure Page No.

1 Figure 1 7
2 Figure 2 20
3 Figure 3 21
4 Figure 4 22
5 Figure 5 23
6 Figure 6 25
7 Figure 7 26
8 Figure 8 27
9 Figure 9 29
10 Figure 10 30
11 Figure 11 31
12 Figure 12 33
13 Figure 13 34
14 Figure 14 35
15 Figure 15 36
16 Figure 16 37

CHAPTER ONE:
INTRODUCTION
 Since the beginning of the industrial revolution the amount of carbon dioxide in the air
has seen a massive surge. The concentration of co2 prior to the industrial revolution was 280
parts per million, as of recent study the current concentration of co2 in the air is 412 parts per
million that is a 48% increase since the industrial revolution. During the late 1900’s in order to
keep the economy running and to come out of recession organization did not pay attention to
the quality of the products manufactured, products that were manufactured were made cheap
material and weren’t meant to last for long which meant that more and more of those products
would enter into our landfills. The materials used were usually plastics and other harmful
chemicals. The waste caused by these products in the production process would not be treated
and were let into landfills and rivers and would further harm the environment.
 In recent times more and more people are becoming conscious of the amount of waste
they produce. Consumers are becoming more environmentally conscious and are willing to
switch to more eco-friendly products. Global warming and climate change have forced the
people to reflect on their purchasing habits and the impact they have on the environment.
Businesses have understood the demand for sustainable products and hence we can find a wide
variety of eco-friendly products now than that of ten years ago. Also, we see that consumers
who are environmentally conscious also try and influence those who aren’t. Due to the change
in attitude of the people a new market of sustainable products have emerged, businesses also
produce eco-friendly products in order to show the consumer that they care for the environment
and thus further increasing their goodwill. Governments are also placing in new laws and
regulations which make it difficult for the companies to dump their un-treated waste and use
harmful chemicals and materials in the production process.

Concept of Green Marketing

Green marketing concept entered in the 1980s marketing literature and has been used
synonymously with ecological environmentalist or environmental marketing, sustained
marketing concepts (Ay and Ecevit, 2005). Green marketing has been discussed and identified
in “ecological marketing” seminar prepared by American marketing association in the year
1975 for the first time. According to this identification, ecologic marketing is studies which are
related marketing activities which could have a positive or negative effect on environmental
pollution energy consumption and other sources of consumption ([Link]/erbaslar).

Green marketing is fulfilling the needs and wants of the consumers in such a way that
the environment is not harmed, in other words making a products that in no ways harms the
environment. one of the most important factors for business to produce eco-friendly products is
the consumers environmental consciousness and their willingness to buy eco-friendly products.

Kotlar and Zaltman (1971) identified green marketing in social marketing. In this
context it means social marketing is identified as creating marketing matter and techniques in
social benefits context without concern. Kotler (1991) identifies green marketing under the
societal marketing concept as a process which protects and develops consumer’s and society
welfare, specifies organization’s needs, wishes and intended population’s interest and provides
more productive and efficient customer satisfaction for the firm than its rival firm. According
to Polonsky (1994) green marketing is fulfilling the wishes of consumers with least damage to
the environment.

Evolution of Green Marketing

The concept of green marketing was first introduced in the year 1980. Earlier business
and consumers weren’t that aware of the damage caused to environment by their consumption
pattern but as the years progressed people and businesses were more aware and educated of the
change in the environment caused by their habits. This led to the increase in demand for more
eco-friendly products.
 Companies took notice of this change and poured in money in R&D and came up with
products that had a significantly less impact on the environment. According to the “American
Marketing Association” green marketing is marketing of products that are presumed to be
environmentally safe. According to Peattie (2001) there are three phases of green marketing.
The first stage is known as Ecological green marketing, in this stage the focus is increased on
using those products that have the least impact on the environment and being less dependent on
those products that are harmful.

The second phase is known as Environmental green marketing, in this stage a more
broadly-based initiative is aimed to reduce environmental damage by tapping into green
consumer demand and opportunities for competitive advantage. The third stage is known as
Sustainable marketing, in this stage a more radical approach towards markets and marketing
which seeks to meet the full environmental cost of production and consumption to create a
sustainable economy.

Benefits of Green Marketing

The benefits of green marketing towards an organization are:

1. Companies that manufacture green products are the ones that create new markets and
dude to this they have an advantage over their consumers who are still producing
products that are harmful in nature. It also shows that the company is committed to
keeping the environment safe and preserving nature for the future generations and hence
increasing the goodwill of the company.

2. Green products are more attractive and the companies that sell them get better
recognition.

3. Employees feel more proud for working in a company that sells sustainable products
and hence they will be more loyal and efficient.

4. When firms use green marketing and implement green product development it is highly
profitable to them in the long term.

5. Gives access to new markets.

6. Gives the organisation a competitive advantage.

7. It increases brand loyalty of customers towards the brand.

The benefits of green marketing towards customers are:

1. Cost efficient products:- Green products usually last longer than their non sustainable
counterparts as they are mostly reusable in nature and because of this nature the
consumer does not need to buy the product again and again and is hence cost effective.
 2. Low maintenance:- If they are used responsibly then green products last longer , yield
better results and are low in maintenance.

3. Improves health:- Because green products cause less damage to the environment it ends
up causing less damage to the consumer. This is done by the removal of harmful
elements in the products which end up entering our water and soil which then ultimately
consumed buy us.

The benefits green marketing towards to the society:

1. Generate more jobs:- According to a study by IRENA (International Renewable Energy

Agency) the renewable sector has created over 5 lakh new jobs in 2015.

2. Prevents overuse of resources:- Green products reduce the threat of overuse of resources
and fossil fuels. This makes sure that there are enough resources not only fot the current
generation but also for the future generations to come.

3. Protects the environment:- Green products do not emit or emit very less harmful
chemicals in the environment and due to this the people will be able to lead a healthier
life. Also these products will help us reverse the damage that we have already caused
the environment.
Challenges Green Product Face

 Expensive: Green products are usually priced at a premium because they are also harder
to manufacture. Due to the premium price people do not purchase the products and
prefer the non-sustainable counterpart.

 Ignorance:- One of the problem is ignorance. Many people are still ignorant towards
green products and don’t see the benefits of purchasing them.

 Investment:- In order to make green products cheap to manufacture they require a lot of
R&D and not many people are interested in funding the cause.

 Less government pressure:- There is less pressure from the government to force
companies to change their ways.

 Greed:- Greed is also one reason why companies aren’t ready to change, they feel that
its okay to continue the same way and are not ready to change.

What is considered as a green product?

A product that has minimal or no impact of the environment is known as a green

product. A green product may be made of material that are bio degradable and which do not
comprise of any harmful chemicals, also in order to be considered as a green product the
manufacturing process must also have very little or even no impact on the environment.
Products that are not tested on animals also come under the category of green products.

Characteristics of Green Products:

1. Grown without the use of toxic chemicals and within hygienic conditions.

2. Can be recycled, reused and is biodegradable in nature.

3. Comes with eco-friendly packaging that can be either reused or is biodegradable in

nature.

4. Uses the least amount of resource as possible.

5. Has a reduced or zero carbon footprint.

6. Has little to no plastic used in it.

Future of Green Products:

The demand for green products will continue to increase in future and not just because
of the demand and pressure from the people but simply because it will become a necessity to
save the environment. Governments will also pose heavy fines and taxes for those companies
that are still producing products that harm the environment. The government already provides
subsidies to those companies that produce green products and an extension of these subsidies
will further attract more companies to follow the green path.

1.2 Scope of the Research

The purpose of the study is to find if people are aware of the variety of sustainable
products available to them in the market and to find out the reasons why they would like to
purchase sustainable products. The other purpose if to find out peoples opinion regarding the
current situation of sustainable products in the market and to find out which other categories
would they like to see go green.

In future the study can be improved by including more sectors such has consumer
durables, electric vehicles etc and include a wider age group and area in order to get more
accurate understanding of the market situation at that point of time.

1.3 Objectives of the Research

1. To find out the awareness of sustainable products among people.

2. To study the willingness of people to adapt to sustainable products.

3. To find out the availability of sustainable products in the market.

1.4 Hypothesis of the Research

Statement 1: Awareness of sustainable products in the market

H1 - The people are aware of sustainable products in the market.

H0 - The people are unaware of sustainable products in the market.

Statement 2: Willingness to change to sustainable products.

H1 - People are willing to shift to sustainable products even though they are more expensive.

H0 - People are unwilling to shift to sustainable products because they are more expensive

Statement 3: Availability of sustainable products in the market.

H1 - Sustainable products are widely available in the market and are easy to purchase.

H0 - Sustainable products are not easily available in the market.

1.5 Conceptual framework

su staia n b le p ro d u cts

Good for the environmnet

R e a so n s to ch o o se

Make you feel better

Better comapred to non

sustainable counteroparts.

Cost benefit

They ae usually reusable

Figure 1
1.6 Limitations of the Study

While the study was conducted a few problems were encountered. Time constraints was
one of them, due to time constraints this researched covered mostly family and friends. Another
problem was with regards to the elderly who had little to no idea on such products.
 CHAPTER TWO:
LITERARTURE REVIEW
2.1 An Introduction To Green Marketing – Michael Jay Polonsky, University of New
Castle, 1994

According to Michael Jay Polonsky, green marketing does not mean the promotion or
advertising of products with environmental characteristics, he says that terms like Phosphate
free, Recyclable, Refillable, etc. are a component of green marketing but are actually green
marketing is a much wider concept and can be applied to consumer goods, industrial goods and
even services.

He also says that green marketing includes a range of activities such as product
modification, changes to the production process, changes to packaging etc. “Green or
environment marketing is all the activities designed to generate and facilitate any exchanges
intended to satisfy human needs or wants, in such a way that the satisfaction of these needs and
wants occur, with minimal detrimental impact on the natural environment” (Michael Jay
Polonsky). The above meaning says that goods cannot be manufactured by having zero effects
on the environment hence goods much be produced in such a way that the damaged cause to
the environment in as less as possible.

He says that the reason green marketing has increased importance is simple as it relies
on the basic definition of Economics i.e. Economics is the study of how people use their limited
resource to try and satisfy unlimited human wants. (Mc Taggart, Findlay and Parkin 1992, 24).
He further goes to mention that green marketing ultimately looks at how marketing activities
utilize these limited resources while satisfying consumers wants both of individuals and
industry as well as achieving selling organization’s objectives.

In his research he mentions that all types of consumers, both individual and industrial
are becoming more concerned and aware of the environment around them. He points/ mentions
to a study conducted in the year 1992 which included 16 countries and, in that study, more than
50% of the consumers in each country other than Singapore were concerned about the
environment.

He also mentions a study conducted in Australia in the year 1994 and the results of that
study show that 84.6% of the sample believed that individuals had a responsibility to take care
of the environment and 80% of the sample indicated that they had modified their behavior to
have less impact on the environment.

He gives a few examples of companies like Mc Donald’s who changed their clam shell
packaging with waxed paper because of increased consumer concern relating to polystyrene
production and Ozone depletion (Gifford 1991, Hume 1991) and Xerox who introduced high
quality recycled photocopier paper in an attempt to satisfy the demands of firms for less
environmentally harmful products.

Further into his study he mentions that many firms are starting to realize that they are a
part of a larger community and that they must act in an environmentally responsible fashion
which translates into firms that believe they must achieve environment related objectives as
well as profit related objectives. He gives examples of organization like body shop that heavily
promote themselves as a environmentally responsible organization. He also talks about Coca-
Cola an organization that has invested large sums of money in various recycling activities as
well has modified their packaging to minimize its environmental impact nut don’t promote
their environmental activities.

He then mentions the pressure from the government, he says that the government has
put in regulations relating to environmental marketing that are designed to protect consumers in
several ways i.e. (1) Reduce production of harmful good or by products, (2) modify consumer
and industry’s use and/or consumption of harmful good, (3) Ensure that all types of consumers
have the ability to evaluate the environmental composition of goods.

He mentions that there ae a number of problems that an organization must overcome.

He says that one of the main problems a firm using green marketing must ensure that their
activities are not misleading to consumers or industry and do not breach any of the regulations
or laws dealing with environmental marketing.

2.2 Green Marketing: Challenges and strategy in the changing scenario – Dr. Sathpal
Singh

In this paper Dr Sathpal Singh examines the notion of green marketing and the
challenges which are associated with different aspects of green marketing in the present
scenario. He also includes strategies which are to be employed so that green marketing can be
expedited and pave the way to make the green product more ecologically viable as well as
economically viable for the consumer’s belonging to different hierarchy

In his introduction he explains where and when did the term green marketing come
from and how it originated. Later he gives us an explanation of the challenges in green
marketing, he says there is a need for standardization of the products, he mentions that it has
been observed that very less proportionate of the marketing message from “Green” campaigns
is true to the necessary standards and reflect the authenticity which they claim. He says that
there is no yard stick currently which could certify if the product is organic.

He says that the rural and urban consumers are gradually becoming aware of the merits
of green products but it’s still a new notion or a concept for the masses, he says its imperative
to educate the people about growing menace of the deteriorating environment.

In his study Dr. Sathpal Singh lists a few strategies that can be executed for green
marketing, He mentions strategies like ‘Product differentiation strategy’ which helps
differentiate products and services using green practices. He then mentions value positioning of
consumers where the organization can design environmental products to perform as well as
promoting and delivering the customer’s desired value of environmental products and target
relevant customer market segment.
 He mentions that bio degradable packaging will affect in a strong and moderate way on
their decision making, it is important to modify the product packaging by making use of
recycled as well as handmade paper in packaging rather than using more mechanized materials.

He then talks about product strategy for green marketing in order to promote marketing,
green marketing is an urgent need to identify customers environmental necessities and develop
the products accordingly, it includes environmentally friendly packaging etc. He also talks
about a distribution strategy for green marketing which is essential to take in consumer support.

He concludes by saying that green marketing is a relatively new notion to most of the
consumers however green marketing is the marketing of products that are environmentally safe
and therefore it becomes very essential to understand dualism between green marketing and the
growing price of green products so that the green products within the reach of the consumer can
be within the reach of the consumers of different hierarchy.

2.3 Concept of green marketing and green product development on consumer buying
approach -Yeow Kar Yan & Rashad Yazdanifard

In their paper Yeow Kar Yan and Rashad Yazdanifard spoke anout the concept of green
management and green product development.

According to Yakup and Sevil (2011) from the 1980s there has been ecological issues
like global warming, the greenhouse gas effect etc which are directly related to industrial
manufacturing and this will continue to effect human activities. Due to this increase
environmentalism there has been an increase in the in the amount of consumers that are
concerned with the environment.

In their paper Yeow Kar Yan and Rashad Yazdanifard speak about green product
development and say that it can help the firms and economies move swiftly towards a
sustainable environment. They mention Chen (2001) in which Chen discovered that the product
designed to minimize the use of non-renewable resources, avoiding toxic material and
renewable resource during its whole life-cycle would be the most efficient manner to display
green technological development.

Ahead into their paper Yeow Kar Yan and Rashad Yazdanifard talk about consumer
buying approach where they quote (Vyas, 2009) consumer behaviour has been illustrated as the
actions of consumers who identify a need or want, searching for information, buying,using,
giving feedback on the products and services in order to full their desires

In their paper they talk about green marketing, green product development, consumer
buying approach, advantages of green marketing and green product development, the
relationship between green marketing and consumer buying behaviour and a lot more. Their
research goes into detail of many of these aspects and to back their study they have also
mentioned many researchers and have quoted their work. They have even given the problems
that one might face while going green .
 They conclude by saying that green marketing and green product development ae the
best ways for a business to move forward in the future as the government and people will also
prefer companies that produce green products.

2.4 Actually consumers do buy sustainable products – Harvard Business Reviews

According to Harvard business reviews for years managers were angry that consumers
said that they want to buy sustainable products but they actually don’t end up purchasing them.
They mention a study conducted by NYU Stern’s Center for sustainable Business in which they
analysed and conducted and extensive research into U.S. consumers actual purchasing of
consumer packaged goods (CPG) using data contributed by IRI and they found out that 50% of
CPG growth from 2013 to 2018 came from products that had a sustainability mark on them.
They said that IRI’s data come from bar scan codes at retail checkout in food, drug, dollar and
mass merchandisers. They examined over 36 categories and more than 71,000 SKUs, which
accounted for 40% of CPG dollar sales over the five year period.

They found out that products that had a sustainability claim on-pack accounted for
16.6% of the market share in 2018 and that in 2013 the percentage was only 14.3 that means a
rise of 2.3% and delivered nearly 114 billion in sales which was up 29% compared to 2013.
They found out that products marked sustainable grew 5.6 times faster than those that were not
marked. They also found out that 90% of the CPG categories sustainability marked products
grew faster than their non sustainable counterparts.

They also reviewed which categories has the largest share of sustainability marked
products. Toilet tissue, facial tissue, milk, yogurt, coffee, salty snacks and bottled juices were
among those with the highest share in their category while laundry care, floor cleaner and
chocolate candy had less than a 5% share.

They found out that to a certain degree, products that need to have a higher degree of
efficacy were more likely to have a lower share of sustainability marked products probably
because the consumers were worried about the trade off and were worried if they would be
inefficient . They found out that some categories saw high growth in sustainability marked
products and they were sanitary napkins and laundry care which was 150%.

In their conclusion they said that for corporate managers it means consumers are voting
with their dollar against unsustainable brands. They said that only those legacy companies that
choose to adapt and bring in more and more sustainable products will survive and those
companies that do not want to change will slowly be ousted by the consumers
2.5 A Study Of Green Marketing Issues Opportunities And Challenges with special
reference to Attitudinal And Behavioural Analysis of Business Organizations and
Consumers of Agra District- Sauni Priya

In her paper Sauni Priya talks about the present situation in environmental degradation
in India. She says India has earned a position of being one of the top 15 highest polluting
countries in the world. She also says that India ranks the sixth largest and second fastest
growing producer of greenhouse gases in the world and three of India cities are considered as
the most polluted cities in the world

Since industry has brought about many of the problems, industry must seek the
solutions. Businesses have therefore begun to put forward increased importance on
environmental factors while designing its strategies, and also in adopting a wide set of strategic
options with varying in its complexities of the adopted environmental programmes from
compliance to existing regulations to the anticipation of future evolution of market
expectations.
Indian marketing is undergoing a significant metamorphosis because of economic
liberalization and globalization. In this new market scenario households are transiting from low
income to high-income categories. The prices of consumer goods have either come down or
stayed low. This implies that .a consumption boom is in the offing and will become a key
trigger of economic growth. Many analysts are positive on the role of private consumption in
shaping the future growth trajectory in India.
However, societies based on mass production and mass consumption have brought
benefits to many people but they have caused large-scale waste, depleted resources and global
warming. The combined impact of many households is an important contributor to a number of
environmental problems including air and water pollution, habitat alteration and climate
change. Environmental impacts from household consumption are set to grow in these areas
over the Consumerism, which initially started as a movement to protect consumers against
unethical marketing practices and dangerous products has become over time more broad based.
Protection of environment is today one of key items on the agenda of consumer activists.
Growing concern among consumers for the environment has come to be known as
green consumerism, and the number of consumers who espouse a concern for the environment
is increasing over time. Rise of environmental concern among consumers has been viewed as
perhaps the biggest opportunity for enterprises and invention the industrial world has ever seen.
A number of factors have been responsible for the growth of green consumerism and these
include heightened awareness of green issues among people often as a result of media
coverage; increased level of information available to help green consumers make informed
decisions; emergence of an increasing number of green substitutes to traditional products;
widespread use of green themes in advertising; a shift in values towards concern for
environment and society; and increased marketing and merchandizing activity among
environmental next few years.
Consumerism, which initially started as a movement to protect consumers against
unethical marketing practices and dangerous products has become over time more broad based.
Protection of environment is today one of key items on the agenda of consumer activists.
Growing concern among consumers for the environment has come to be known as green
consumerism, and the number of consumers who espouse a concern for the environment is
increasing over time. Rise of environmental concern among consumers has been viewed as
perhaps the biggest opportunity for enterprises and invention the industrial world has ever seen.
 A number of factors have been responsible for the growth of green consumerism and
these include heightened awareness of green issues among people often as a result of media
coverage; increased level of information available to help green consumers make informed
decisions; emergence of an increasing number of green substitutes to traditional products;
widespread use of green themes in advertising; a shift in values towards concern for
environment and society; and increased marketing and merchandizing activity among
environmental and social charities.
Relevance of green marketing in present scenario is tremendously high; especially when
in the name of economic development, every country in the world is trying to increase its GOP
i.e. extracting more and more natural resources from the same landmass of the earth. Since
population is growing geometrically and the total land mass remain the same, the solution to
this gigantic problem may be solved if governments, business organizations, NGO's and
consumers starts buying green products as a means for sustainable development. Moreover,
more and more companies should go for green marketing wholeheartedly to make and save
their own future.
To sum up, environmental concern is matter of great concern for one and all. The
legislative measures being undertaken at the global level by the United Nations in formulating
environmental policy measures, to be followed by the nations in response to the acceptance of
the ideology of sustainable development, implementation of the same by the states is evident
that concerns for global ecological environment is the most crucial and significant agenda of
the current time.
 CHAPTER THREE:

RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY

3.1 Type of research

This research is a descriptive research using both qualitative and quantitative techniques
3.2 Nature of design.

 Step 1: Design Research problems and framing Hypothesis.

 Step 2: Literature review.
 Step 3:-Select sample
 Step 4: Research instrument.
 Step 5: Data interpretation and analysis.
 Step 6: Conclusion.

3.3 Type of Data

There were two types of data used in this research, they are primary data and secondary data.
Most of the data used in the research came from the primary data source.

 Primary data:- Primary data consisted of the data collected via the google forms that
was sent out to the people.
 Secondary data:- Secondary data was gathered from reading news articles and other
research papers that were pertaining to the research topic.

3.3 Sample Size

The sample size consisted of 122 people and all were a part of different age groups and had a
different occupation status.

3.5 Sample Frame

Sample frame includes people of all age groups. It includes anyone who purchases good from
the market.

3.5 Research Instruments

To get the data necessary for this research google forms was the instrument used.
CHAPTER FOUR:
DATA ANALYSIS
From the data that we have gathered we can see that there are many people who are aware of
the sustainable products that are available in the market, we also see that these people are also
ready to shift to more eco-friendly sustainable products this indicates that the market for
sustainable products is growing.

From the people who filled the form many said that the premium price of sustainable products
do affect their purchasing decision. 38.7%of the people said that they will not purchase a
sustainable product if the price is more but 58% said they would. From the data acquired we
see that metal straws and bio degradable garbage bags have the highest awareness have the
highest awareness among all the product’s mentioned. However online stores that sell these
products are that popular.

Many people said that eco-friendly products are not easily available in their locality and they
feel that there aren’t enough sustainable products in the market. Also people feel like the
government should provide more subsidies to the companies that provide or manufacture
sustainable product.
 1. Age

Age group

5%

11%
26%

58%

15-18 19-24 25-30 Above 30

Figure 2

Answer Percentage
15-18 26.20%
19-24 58.20%
25-30 10.70%
30 above 4.90%

Interpretation:

In the above diagram we see the different age groups that have filled the form. We see that the
highest percent of responses were from people aged 19-24, then behind them was people aged
15-18. People above the age of 30 were the least.
 2. Gender

Gender

41

59

Male Female

Figure 3

Answer Percentage
Male 59%
Female 41%

Interpretation:

From the following diagram we can see that 59% of respondents were male while 41% were
female.
 3. Select your profession

4.1

16.4

79.5

Student Employed Unemployed

Figure 4

Answer Percentage
Student 79.5%
Employed 16.4%
Unemployed 4.1%

Interpretation:

Most of the respondents were students which consisted of 79.5%, 16.4% were employed and
only 4.1% were unemployed
Objective 1: To find out the awareness of sustainable products among people.

Statement: Awareness of sustainable products in the market

H1 - The people are aware of sustainable products in the market.

H0 - The people are unaware of sustainable products in the market.

4. Are you aware of the sustainable products in the market?

 Awareness

12.3

87.7

Yes No

Figure 5

Answer Percentage
Yes 87.7
No 12.3

Interpretation:

From the following pie chart we can see that 87.7% people are aware of the sustainable
products in the market and only 12.3% of people are not aware of the eco-friendly products. By
this we can say that many people are aware of the sustainable products in the market and it is a
viable market to target.

Conclusion:
The hypothesis being that there is awareness of sustainable products in the market against the
null hypothesis.

The data proves that majority of the people are aware of the sustainable products in the market.

Therefore, H1 - The people are aware of sustainable products in the market.

5. Does the premium price of sustainable products affect your buying decision?
 1.4

25.4

71.3

Yes No Maybe

Figure 6

Answer Percentage
Yes 71.3%
No 25.3%
Maybe 1.4%

Interpretation:

By the data given we can see that the premium pricing does affect the purchasing decision of
the consumer which means that they may think twice before purchasing a sustainable product
or the premium price maybe the reason they will not purchase the product at all. 25.4% said
that the premium price does not affect their buying decision, this means that even though the
price of the sustainable product is high they will prefer it against its non-sustainable
counterpart.
6. Do you prefer buying products that have eco-friendly packaging?

3%
8%

89%

Yes No Maybe

Figure 7

Answer Percentage
Yes 88.50%
No 8.20%
Maybe 3.30%

Interpretation:

We see that many people prefer products with eco-friendly packaging. A very small percentage
of people don’t prefer buying products with buying products with eco-friendly packaging and a
even smaller percent is unsure of their opinion.
Objective 2: To study the willingness of people to adapt to sustainable products.

Statement: Willingness to change to sustainable products

H1 - People are willing to shift to sustainable products even though they are more expensive.

H0 - People are unwilling to shift to sustainable products because they are more expensive.
7. Would you purchase a sustainable product if the price is more than that of a non-sustainable
counterpart?

3%

39%

58%

Yes No Maybe

Figure 8

Answer Percentage
Yes 58%
No 38%
Maybe 3.30%

Interpretation:

We see that 58% of the surveyed population would prefer to purchase a sustainable product
even though its price is more than its non-sustainable counterpart. This means that there is
scope for such products in the market as people who are ready to pay the premium price exist.
But we see that 38.70% of the population is not ready to pay a premium price. This part of the
population is looking for better deals and when the price of sustainable products will come
down they will start purchasing them.
Conclusion:

The hypothesis being that the people are ready to shift to sustainable products even though they
are expensive is proved against the null hypothesis

From the data gathered we can see that people are ready to purchases substantiable product’s
even those they are priced at a premium

Therefore H1 - People are willing to shift to sustainable products even though they are more
expensive.
8. Which of the following products are you aware of?

Figure 9

Answer
Metal straws 93
Wooden Sunglasses 32
Beeswax food wrap 38
Biodegradable garbage bags 104
Compostable cutlery 80
Wooden Watches 14
Biodegradable garden pots 70

Interpretation:

From the data gathered we can see that biodegradable garbage bags are the most recognized
among all the items, it is then followed by metal straws with 93 people recognizing it. After
that compostable cutlery is next most popular item on the list with 80 people recognizing it and
it is then followed by biodegradable garden pots, wooden watches, beeswax food wrap and
wooden sunglasses.
9. Which of the following website’s have you heard of?
 Figure 10

Online websites
Brown living 25
Echoy 10
Oyehappy 17
None 86

Interpretation:

From the data gathered we can see that many people aren’t aware of the sites that are
mentioned. Brown living is the most popular site with 25 people recognizing it. Oyehappy and
Ecohoy are the least with 17 and 10 people recognizing them. 86 people had no idea of any of
the sites mentioned above.
Objective 3: To find out the availability of sustainable products in the market.

Statement: Availability of sustainable products in the market.

H1 - Sustainable products are widely available in the market and are easy to purchase.

H0 - Sustainable products are not easily available in the market.

10. Are sustainable products easily available in your locality?

 24%

76%

Yes No

Figure 11

Answer Percentage
Yes 76%
No 24%

Interpretation:

From the following diagram we see that 76% of the people are easily able to find sustainable
products in the market and 24% aren’t able to find any sustainable products in their area. This
means that the store do offer a small variety of sustainable products for consumers to purchase.

Conclusion:
The hypothesis being that sustainable are widely available in the market against the null
hypothesis.

From the data gathered we can see that sustainable products are easily available in the market.

Therefore H1 - Sustainable products are widely available in the market and are easy to
purchase.
11. Do you think there are enough sustainable products in the market?

17.4

82.6

Yes No

Figure 12

Answer Percentage
Yes 82.6%
No 17.4%

Interpretation:

82.6% of the people feel that there aren’t enough sustainable products in the market and that
means there is an scope of growth in terms of variety in the market. However 17.4% people
think that there are enough sustainable products in the market.
12. Do you think the government should provide subsidies to companies that manufacture
sustainable products?

100%

Yes

Figure 13

Answer Percentage
Yes 100%
No 0%

Interpretation:

100% of people think that the government should introduce subsidies to the companies that
manufacture sustainable products.
13. Do you think the government must make it mandatory for manufacturers to use only
sustainable and bio degradable packaging?

1.4

35

62

Yes No Maybe

Figure 14

Answer Percentage
Yes 62%
No 35%
Maybe 1.4%

Interpretation:

We can see that 62% of the people feel that the government must make it mandatory for
manufacturers to use sustainable or bio degradable packaging. However 35% of the people feel
that the government shouldn’t make it mandatory, this maybe be because sustainable and bio
degradable packaging costs more and it will drive up the price for the goods sold in the market
making them more expensive and less accessible to certain groups of the market.
14. Do you think in the next 10 years all the products available in the market will be
sustainable?

3.2

82

Yes No

Figure 15

Answer Percentage
Yes 82%
No 3.2%

Interpretation:

82% of the population feel that in 10 years all the products available in the market will be
sustainable. A small percent feel that something like this will not happen.
15. Do you think the price of sustainable products will be lesser than non-sustainable products
in the future?

100

Yes No

Figure 16

Answer Percentage
Yes 100%
No 0%

Interpretation:

100% respondents feel that the price of sustainable products will be less than non-sustainable in
the future.
CHAPTER FIVE:
CONCLUSION
 From the data that we gathered we can see that many people are aware of the variety of
sustainable products around them. Although these sustainable products are not marketed often
on television and other media sources their awareness is pretty high. The reason could be
because of the changing mindset of the people and their willingness to change in order to have
a more positive impact towards the environment. We also see that the premium price of the
sustainable products do impact the buying decision of the people, if the price of the sustainable
product is far more expensive than its non-sustainable product then the people might choose the
non-sustainable product. The purchase decision may also vary depending upon the value for
money that the products provide the person with. If the sustainable is expensive but provides
more value for money then the person will choose the sustainable product and the same vice
versa.

We see than many people prefer to purchase products that have eco-friendly packaging.
The packaging maybe of cardboard, or maybe be bio-degradable in nature. This could be
because people want to decrease their impact that they have on the environment. Even though
products with eco-friendly packaging maybe slightly more expensive people still would
purchase them, for those who do not purchase a product based on the packaging are probably
those people who care more about the value for money or the functionality of the product over
its packaging.

Slightly more than half of the people said that they would purchase a sustainable
product regardless of its price. These people are the consumers that really care about their
environmental impact and are ready to spend more money in order to reduce it. Many
consumers aren’t aware of that many online store that sell sustainable products, out of the many
online stores listed online a few are recognised by the general public. However the general
public is aware of the sustainable products in the markets, compostable garbage bags, metal
straws, wooden sunglasses etc are a few product’s that are widely popular among the people.

Sustainable products are easily available in peoples locality, this gives the consumers
the luxury of going down to the store and purchasing the product rather than ordering it from an
online store and then waiting for it to be delivered. However the people do think that the variety
of products aren’t good enough which means that there is scope for new products to come into
the market. Organizations should launch more sustainable products in different categories.

The government isn’t providing enough subsidies to the organizations that manufacture
sustainable products and the people agree to this point. The government should provide
subsidies so that the prices of sustainable products reduce and they become more competitive
towards their non sustainable counterparts. The people feel that the government should make it
mandatory for manufactures to use only sustainable packaging however the decision like this
may result into the cost of the products going up and the hence less people being able to afford
them.

Many people also feel that by the year 2030 all the products in the market will be
sustainable and something like this could happen. With the changing mindset of consumer
manufactures may be forced to make only make sustainable products as those who don’t may
face backlash from consumers.
 In conclusion, the mindset of the people are changing people are becoming more
environmentally conscious and willing to spend more money on sustainable products. The
people are also demanding more eco friendly products, this clearly means that there is a
growing market for these products and that there are people who are ready to pay for these
products. In future there might be introduction of subsidies to make these products cheaper,
there might be laws that make it mandatory for organizations to only make products that are
sustainable in nature.

Hence the future is truly only going to be about sustainable products and those
companies realise this and give themselves a head start will benefit in the future, a good
example would be tesla, tesla launched their first mass market car in 2012 and they were the
only automaker that had launches a long range ev that ticked all the boxes, now 8 years later
when all the other automakers are beginning to launch their EV versions tesla is lightyears
ahead of their competition.

Keeping the objectives of the research in mind the following conclusions were drawn
on peoples willingness to change towards sustainable products.

Objective 1: To find out the awareness of sustainable products among people.

H1- The people are aware of sustainable products in the market.

 Out of all the respondents 87.7 people were aware of the sustainable products in the
market.
 Only 12.3% of people weren’t aware of the sustainable products in the market.
 This shows us the awareness of sustainable products are high.
 Many people are aware of the sustainable products in the market too.
 Bio degradable garbage bags have the recognition with 104 people recognizing it then
comes metal straws where 93 people recognize it after that comes compostable cutlery
with 80 people recognizing it and follow biodegradable garden pots with 70 people,
beeswax food wrap with 38, wooden sunglasses with 32 and wooden watches with 14
people recognizing them.

Objective 2: To study the willingness of people to adapt to sustainable products.

H1- People are willing to shift to sustainable products even though they are more expensive

 We see that 88.5% people have said that they will purchase a product with sustainable
packaging and only 8.2% said that they won’t.
 58% of the people said that they will purchase a sustainable products regardless of its
premium price.
 People are ready to spend more money to purchase a sustainable product.
Objective 3: To find out the availability of sustainable products in the market.

H1- Sustainable products are widely available in the market and are easy to purchase.

 76% of the people said that they are able to find sustainable products in their locality,
only 24% aren’t able to find sustainable products in their locality
 However people can purchase products from online store. People are aware of a few
online stores that sell sustainable products.
 Brown living is the most recognized online store for purchasing sustainable products
with 25 people recognizing it, then Oyehappy is the next most recognized store with 17
people recognizing it and then last Ecohoy with 10 people recognizing it.
 The people also feel that there are enough sustainable products in the market for now
but wouldn’t mind more in the future.
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 ANNEXURE 1
QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Select your age group

(a) 15-18
(b) 10-24
(c) 25-30
(d) 30 above

2. Select your gender

(a) Male
(b) Female
(c) Other

3. Select your profession

(a) Student
(b) Employed
(c) Unemployed

4. Are you aware of the sustainable products in the market?

(a) Yes
(b) No

5. Does the premium price of sustainable products affect your buying decision?

(a) Yes
(b) No
(c) Maybe

6. Do you prefer buying products that have eco-friendly packaging?

(a) Yes
(b) No
(c) Maybe

7. Would you purchase a sustainable product is the price is more than that of a non-
sustainable counterpart?

(a) Yes
(b) No
(c) Maybe

8. Which of the following products are you aware of?

(a) Metal straws

(b) Wooden sunglasses
(c) Beeswax food wrap
(d) Bio Degradable garbage bags
(e) Compostable cutlery
(f) Wooden watches
(g) Biodegradable garden pots

9. Which of the following website’s have you heard of?

(a) Brown living

(b) Ecohoy
(c) Oyehappy
(d) None

10. Are sustainable products easily available in your locality?

(a) Yes
(b) No

11. Do you think there are enough sustainable products in the market?
(a) Yes
(b) No

12. Do you think the government must provide subsidies to those companies that
manufacture sustainable products?
(a) Yes
(b) No

13. Do you think the government must make it mandatory for manufacturers to use only
sustainable and bio degradable packaging?

(a) Yes
(b) No
(c) Maybe

14. Do you think in the next 10 years all the products available in the market will be
sustainable?

(a) Yes
(b) No

15. Do you think the price of sustainable products will be cheaper than non-sustainable
products in the future?

(a) Yes
(b) No
ANNEXURE 2