Understanding young consumers’ tendencies regarding eco-labelled products

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore different factors influencing young consumers’ approaches to eco-labeled products in an emerging country, Turkey.

Design/methodology/approach

Relevant measures were adapted from the previous literature to assess key constructs on environment and eco-label perceptions. First, an exploratory factor analysis was employed for identifying the key dimensions, and then structural equation modeling was conducted for testing the research hypotheses.

Findings

The findings reveal that the existence of perceived environmental knowledge has an influence on eco-labeled product purchase tendencies, with environmental concern (EC) having a significant mediating effect.

Practical implications

This study contributes to practice by addressing perceptual factors affecting young consumers in emerging markets such as Turkey. This relationship can be utilized to increase the tendency to purchase eco-labeled products to create EC enhancing programs in education in addition to environmental knowledge leveraging ones. Besides, these findings may also be beneficial in eco-labeled product marketing efforts.

Originality/value

This study provides value for the literature by investigating the perception of young consumers in an emerging market specifically, and adopts a more specific eco-label focus, which it integrates with an environmental perspective.

Citation

Göçer, A. and Sevil Oflaç, B. (2017), "Understanding young consumers’ tendencies regarding eco-labelled products", Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Vol. 29 No. 1, pp. 80-97. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-03-2016-0036