Chapter 10: The Sustainable Consumer

After reading this chapter, you will be able to:

Sustainable consumption is referred to the usage of products and services in a manner that considerably minimizes the impact on the society and environment, so that human needs and wants can be fulfilled in the present and in future as well. This consumption behaviour signifies wise usage of resources and minimum waste production or pollution of any kind. It is a way of meeting one’s needs and wants without depleting the environment and the Earth’s natural resources. Therefore, the consumers practicing such consumption behaviour are called sustainable consumers.

Prior to the concept of sustainable consumption, the popularity of green consumption and green consumer behaviour was quite extensive all over the world. In this regard, the consumers or more specifically the green consumers were classified according to their consumption behaviour. It is quite important for the marketers to understand all the consumer types and then market their product accordingly. In green marketing, purchase intentions are not only determined by the demographics of consumers but also by their level of concern for a specific environmental issue.