PROMOTING GREEN PRODUCTS AMONG YOUTH AT SUPERMARKETS FOR CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION

Abstract

Climate change mitigation is a debatable topic around the world along with environmental education. This study highlights an important point: climate change mitigation can be done by improving the consumption/ usage of green products. Numerous studies have already been conducted in the areas related to climate change mitigation such as the effects of organic farming, consumer behavior regarding the consumption of green products, ecological perspectives regarding the intention to purchase green products, marketing mix, and eco-labeling. However, no comprehensive study has been conducted regarding opportunities to promote green, organic, or eco-friendly products toward climate change mitigation at the national level. Therefore, this study is an attempt to address this knowledge gap and also introduces a novel way to enhance green consumption among youth as a positive step for climate change mitigation. This mixed method study uses both primary and secondary data to familiarize the concept. The semi-structured questionnaires were shared with a convenient sample of young customers of selected multinational supermarkets to understand the perceptions of these products and their purchasing methods while understanding green product promotion practices at those supermarkets through observations as primary data collection instruments. National policies towards green promotions have been identified through published documents. According to the findings, a significant proportion of the sample is willing to purchase these products provided they are reasonably priced. They are aware of the product’s benefits for the environment and health. Therefore, it can be recommended that introducing a new and effective financial reward system to encourage consumers to focus on these products in their purchases will increase consumption and demand. As a practical application, it can introduce a green-embedded electronic reward card system similar to existing loyalty cards to leverage green product purchasing behavior. It will open new avenues to mitigate climate change.