Essay on Green Products and Consumer Behavior: Understanding Recent Trends in the Marketplace

Introduction

Consumer behavior focuses on how costumers select and use services or goods to satisfy their needs. It looks into the actions of consumers in a marketplace and the reasons for these actions. One of the recent trends in consumer behavior is the purchase of green products. Subsequently, this has led to businesses using green marketing to meet consumer needs. Green marketing focuses on the production of environmentally friendly goods. However, this trend in consumer behavior has led some companies to participate in greenwashing. Greenwashing is a strategy used by businesses to mislead customers into believing that their products and services are environmentally friendly. Businesses make exaggerated claims that their products are manufactured under conditions that are keen on promoting environmental sustainability. Companies participate in greenwashing to meet consumer demand and to cut down on costs that could have otherwise be used in the production of green products.

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Why Businesses Participate in Greenwashing

The increasing demand for environmentally conscious products by consumers has led businesses to use the greenwashing strategy. Before purchasing a product, consumers are often eager to know the chemicals used and the process used in production. In the United States, it is estimated that consumers spend more than $40 billion on products such as organic foods and green cars (Solomon, 2017). Subsequently, individuals are willing to spend more on products that are produced under ethical conditions and are environmentally conscious. Knowing this, companies have devised tactics that will drive consumers to buy their products.

With more and more food companies producing unhealthy products, consumer behavior has shifted to the purchase of green products. There is a segment of consumers known as LOHAS, which accounts for an average of 16% of the American adult population (Solomon, 2017). These consumers are keen on their health and are thus willing to spend a lot of money on green products. Companies that have LOHAS as their target market tend to make huge profits from their products. Some businesses also want to tap this market by using the greenwashing strategy.

Another reason as to why a business would get involved in such a false impression is because the production of green products is costly. The raw materials used in making green products are often more expensive as compared to their counterparts. Hence, this leads to the products being pricier. Although some consumers buy green products, a majority often resort to cheaper products, especially during economic downtimes (Solomon, 2017). Some companies also produce products that are aimed at the middle and lower-income consumers, thus producing green products would be unsustainable financially to the company. For some businesses, making false claims is more sustainable since most consumers are not in the loop of the processes used in production.

Conclusion

Overall, greenwashing is a deceitful act that aims at reaping the benefits of green marketing. Most businesses use this strategy to meet the increasing demand of consumers for green products. Additionally, green marketing is expensive since most of the raw materials are pricey, making most companies resort to greenwashing. However, greenwashing hurt a business's brand in the end. It also takes away from businesses that are producing their products in the right way. Instead of making false claims of being ecofriendly, companies should strive to create products that are genuine and environmentally sound.

References

Solomon, M.R., (2017). Consumer behavior: buying, having and being. Boston: Pearson.