Determinants of green purchase behavior of university teachers

Changing global environment has led consumers be increasingly concerned about the environment. This concern has begun to be displayed in their purchasing patterns, with consumers increasingly preferring to buy the so-called ‘environmentally friendly products’. Several authors had linked level of education to this growing green consumption behavior. This study attempts to verify this education–green behavior link by studying the green consumer behavior of university teachers, one of the most highly educated segments. This study identifies the factors that influence their green purchase behavior, and distinguishes between the teachers willing to purchase green products from teachers not willing to purchase in terms of predictor variables. The variables included are demographic variables, awareness about the environmental impacts of products and specific pro environment buying variables. The findings show that they are aware of the existence of environmental activism, even though their concerns are not always translated into green purchase behavior. The findings suggest that energy saving, eco-label and need for environmental information are the three important factors influencing green purchase behavior of university teachers. Switching products for ecological reasons, preference of ecological quality, plastic carry bags are more convenient and should not be banned are the good discriminators between the groups willing to buy and not willing to buy green products. These variables can be used by the marketers to identify the green consumer segment. The findings of the study help to formulate the green marketing strategies to promote and target the educated consumers. The current research is the first attempt to study the green purchase behavior of educated consumers.