Download - Perception survey presentation
Study
conducted by:
Project Supported by
Green Purchasing Network India 2
Japan Fund for Global Environment
International Green Purchasing Network
The Project
Green Purchasing Network India 3
Consumers, particularly those in Urban belts, reportedly
showing strong affinity for green products
Uncertainties related to green products
Challenges to promotion of green products
This study aims to understand challenges and explore
solutions for communication and promotion of green
products
Some Key Questions
Green Purchasing Network India 4
What is greenness to an Indian consumer?
What criteria on greenness is the Indian consumer looking
for?
What are the barriers perceived by the consumers that deter
them from buying green?
Do Indian consumers trust various claims made by product
manufacturers? If yes, then up to what extent?
What are the problems faced by the industry in
communicating green products to Indian consumers?
Some Facts on Indian Consumer(ism)
Green Purchasing Network India 5
Real household disposable income has more than doubled
since 1985
Middle class has emerged as the predominant consumer in
India
Twelfth-largest consumer market today to become the world's
fifth-largest consumer market by 2025*
Surveys suggest, Indian consumers, particularly the middle class
consumers, have become environmentally more conscious
*McKinsey Global Institute
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India is the country with the highest Greendex
score since 2008
Indian consumers repairing broken items rather than
replacing them
choosing to buy things that are “used” rather than new
avoiding environmentally unfriendly products
choosing to buy environmentally friendly products
However
they are skeptical of green products
environmentally friendly products are not worth the extra cost
Regular quantitative measures of
consumer behavior and to promote
sustainable consumption
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95% Indians want government to support more green
innovation and regulation
Lack of availability and inconsistent labelling as the major
barrier to buying green
Consumer perceptions of green
products and corporate brands
So Why Another Survey?
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Large Sample Size
Multi-stakeholder approach
Bilateral Methodology
Designed specifically for Indian consumers
Approach
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Overview of Survey Sample
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Online
Survey
453
Offline
Survey
1598
Manufac-
turers
8
Retailers
6
Certifiers
2
Consumers
2051
Industry Stakeholders
16
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Results and Analysis:
Consumer Survey
Overview
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The survey targeted to know –
What an Indian consumer understands by ‘Greenness’ of a product?
What factors influence their buying decisions on green products? Do
Indian consumers trust various claims made by product manufacturers?
What are barriers perceived
by the consumers that deter
them from buying green?
Survey Size and its Characteristics
Mode of conduct: Online
(22%) and Offline (78%)
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The sample had 55% Male and
39% Female respondents
At point of Purchase
Survey Size and its Characteristics
90% of respondents of both gender were young and belonged to
the age group between 21-60 years
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Survey Size and its Characteristics
86% of male and 91% of female respondents were well educated
and belonged to group that had completed graduation at
minimum
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Survey Size and its Characteristics
66% of male respondents and 55% of female respondents had
good buying capacity
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Excellent Respondent Profile
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Maximum of the Respondents were young, well-educated and
had buying capacity
Representative of Urban Middle class said to be the
predominant consumer in India!
Recognizing Green Products
Understanding was
limited to the terms
Biodegradable
Recycled
Organic
Non-toxic
• 90% of the respondents were aware of the term ‘green ‘ or ‘eco-friendly’ product
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Recognizing Green Products
Terms ‘Recycled and Biodegradable’ were
most recognized amongst those consumers
who said they were aware about green
products
The terms ‘organic and Non-toxic’ were
most recognized amongst those consumers
who were not aware about green products
Term ‘Organic’ was more popular with the
age group 41 years and above and the term
‘Recycled’ with the younger consumer (15 to
40 years).
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Recognizing on Green Products
Do Consumer understand the terms ‘biodegradable’ and
‘organic’?
Can they differentiate between the terms ‘recycled’ and
‘recyclable’?
Terms that are popularly used as synonyms to ‘greenness’ gets imprinted on the consumer and they use these to relate it to the products.
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Does buying Green Products makes a
difference?
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Cost of Green Products
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Cost of Green Products
Cost of the green products partially influences the buying
decision but it certainly is not the guiding factor
Cost aspect is not guided by gender differences nor by
different income group
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Barriers preventing Consumers from
buying Green products
Cost is actually not the prime
factor as compared to
‘Awareness’ and ‘Availability’
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Other Factors influencing the buying
decision
Design does not matter to consumers
as compared to concern for
environment and health
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Eco Labels
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Ecolabels or certifications
on green products can
also influence the buying
decision
Take-aways - Consumer survey
Understanding of the terms used for
defining ‘greenness’ w.r.t. the product
type needs more awareness amongst
consumers
‘Cost’ and ‘design’ of the product is not
the guiding factor that impacts buying
decision for an Indian consumer
Ecolabels and Certifications can play a
big role in influencing buying decision
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Results and Analysis:
Industry Stakeholder Survey (Manufacturers, Retailers & Certifiers)
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The Sample
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14 Companies (Meetings and Telephonic Interviews)
Six retailers
Eight manufacturers
Covered the three categories of Organic Paper, Organic Textile
and Organic Food
Comprised of companies with both online and offline presence
All founded between the years 2000 and 2012
Certifiers
Overview
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What challenges faced in communicating greenness to the
consumer?
What attracts a consumer to buy green?
What prevents a consumer from buying green?
Do consumers understand eco-labels and certifications?
Suggestions for increasing awareness and understanding of
green products
Communicating Green: What are the
challenges faced?
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The top terms
used to
communicate
green are
‘Organic’ and
‘Biodegradable’
Communicating Green: What are the
challenges faced?
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Indian society is not yet prepared for the concept of green
The buy-in / acceptance of a concept of a green product
requires change in mind set and behavior
Buying Green: What attracts a
consumer?
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Buying Green: What prevents a
consumer?
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Cost emerges as the main barrier!
Eco-labels & certifications
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Awareness on green products?
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All respondents cited education, media, social media, word of
mouth and a health conscious generation as the cause
Yes
100%
No
0%
Do you see increasing awareness about green
products amongst consumers?
Certifiers: A third perspective
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There is an increasing awareness amongst the urban
consumers regarding such certifications.
Younger generation who are educated and health conscious
are driving this increase.
There is a tendency among Indian consumers to believe the
claims however certification does not play a role in purchase
decision.
Certifiers: A third perspective
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For eco-labels, the focus is mostly on foreign markets as these
countries have stricter laws for exporters.
Top barriers to Certification:
low awareness of environmental hazards
cost of certification
low demand for certified products in India.
Overall Analysis
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Consumer V/s Industry Stakeholders
Cost
For Consumers the Cost is not the prime factor for buying
green products
where as
The Retailers and Manufacturers perception is that Cost is prime
factor
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Consumer V/s Industry Stakeholders
Design:
For Consumers design of the product is not important
whereas
The Retailers think it is!
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Consumer V/s Industry Stakeholders
Awareness:
Although there is an increased Awareness on green products,
yet the terms for defining ‘greenness’ is still not understood.
Retailers and manufacturers perceive that ‘organic’ and
‘biodegradable’ is what consumer understand as Green
whereas
an aware consumer considers “biodegradable’ and ‘recycled’
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Recommendations
Need to increase awareness on the
‘Greenness’ terminologies
Acceptable terminologies
Communication and Media
Communicating the shades of Green
Absolute Green or Environmentally
preferable
Preventing Green Washing
Establishing Green claims code
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Recommendations
Increased Availability, affordability and
visibility
Peering and assurance
Certification
Green Purchasing Network India 46
Thank you
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