Researching a new typology of green and ethical consumers

Caroline Oates and Jo PadmoreManagement SchoolUniversity of Sheffield

Internal ad hoc seminar of the Centre for Well-being in Public Policy

5th November 2008

Presentation outline

• Green and ethical behaviour and well-being• Research problem• About the studies• Key findings • Implications for the proposed typology• Conclusions and further work

Green and ethical behaviour and well-being

• Well-being has been linked to green/ethical issues via concepts such as voluntary simplicity

• VS can be defined as a simpler lifestyle of consuming less or differently, excluding materialistic goals, paring down to the essentials of life

• This may involve elements such as spiritual growth and self-discipline

• Julie Newton’s recent CWiPP seminar focused on links between well-being and sustainable development

The research problem

From the point of view of the individual consumer, sustainable consumption is very difficult

• Finding alternative products, services and outlets can be time consuming and inconvenient

• Difficulty of finding information and evaluating it• Sustainability factors are competing with other consumer

criteria such as price, availability and brand• Many sustainability factors are also competing with one

another– fair trade versus local shops– energy efficiency versus multinational manufacturers

Introduction to the studies

• First study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council• Focused on how consumers purchased technology based products

compared to purchase of fmcg • Enabled us to propose a new typology of green consumers

• Second study used same interview protocol but focused on purchase of tourism products and services, again compared to purchase of fmcg

• Both used a qualitative, grounded approach• Over 100 interviews and 3 focus groups• Focus on actual, recent purchases of products, services and fmcg

• Third study funded by Social Sciences Devolved Fund• Used a survey design to investigate proposed typology

Typology of Green Consumers

These groups can be distinguished by• Their understanding of ‘sustainability’• Their orientation to product and issue research• The kind of information and outlets they use• The degree to which they critique information• The extent to which they convert beliefs into behaviour

Translators Exceptors Selectors

Translators

• For this group, awareness = action• Their concern is often at the level of products rather

than companies or industries• They are prepared to make some sacrifices and

changes in their lives• Their information seeking is largely passive• We think that word of mouth and opinion leaders are

important to this group• They are uncritical of information sources

A Translator profile

• Alison is in her mid 20s• She began recycling with her parents when they lived in

Germany• She volunteers for conservation work with a local group• Her boyfriend Paul is more interested in sustainable

consumption so she is gradually trying to incorporate local shops into her food shopping routine and starting to boycott brands and retailers

• She’s never thought of looking up information on companies when buying a fridge but will try that in the future

• She likes to think of herself always trying to get a little bit better

Exceptors

• Sustainability is a priority• This group have a complex understanding of a wide range

of interdependent sustainability ideas• They are change-seeking• Their information seeking is active, company level and very

critical• They are comfortable with non-mainstream outlets, products

and information sourcesBUT• There is one exception to their green lifestyle

– This is usually a conscious exception– It is usually a ‘small’ exception

An Exceptor profile

• Adriana is in her late 20s and is vegetarian• She is a member of Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace,

Amnesty International and People & Planet• She aims to reduce waste through recycling, has a

wormery for composting and tries to reduce her energy and water consumption at home and never drives

• She favours green or fairtrade fmcgs (and is happy to pay more for them), would never go to McDonald’s and disapproves of supermarkets

• When she flies anywhere (and she tries not to) she plants trees to make her trip ‘carbon neutral’

• BUT she has recently bought an electric popcorn maker

Selectors

• This group are green or ethical in one aspect of sustainability only– Greenpeace OR recycling OR green energy OR organic

• Probably the most common group• This would explain why green marketing fails and

green marketing research can give conflicting results• Could be a starting point for the other groups• Information seeking is selective, ad hoc and can be

active, depending on the issue

A Selector profile

• Sue is in her 30s• She hates waste of any kind: she recycles a wide range of

materials, she composts, she reuses her carrier bags, she grows her own vegetables, she likes to make her own clothes from old material and saves any bits of material left over from that to make patchwork quilts

• She does her weekly shopping in a supermarket and uses her car whenever it’s more convenient

• She does worry about the way food is produced but doesn’t buy fairtrade or organic because they are more expensive

• She feels that trying to find out about companies is far too time consuming

Of course, it’s not that simple…

• Despite their own orientation to green products, an individual may be constrained in their actual purchases by conventional criteria– Price– Availability– Brand

• Purchase outcomes are often negotiated within a household and individuals can also be constrained by the orientations of partners or others

• Selectors and Exceptors may be at two ends of a continuum

Moving between groups?

• Incremental greening– Our focus group data is full of descriptions of Translators and

Exceptors gradually taking more and more sustainability issues into account in their purchasing processes

• Information orientation – Different consumers have different ways of seeking and evaluating

information. This may be key to which group they belong to and may also determine whether they are likely to change groups

Second study

• Used same interview protocol as first study but focused on purchase of tourism products and services, again compared to purchase of fmcg

Issues emerging from our data

• Which green criteria are used in the purchase process

• The role played by these criteria• Whether such criteria are applied to product/service

and/or manufacturers and/or retailers• Information sources indicated• Key issues for consumers

Comparison across sectors

• Green and ethical criteria are not used consistently across product sectors

• Even very green consumers do not use the same approach to purchasing sustainable technologies as they do for buying fmcg or travel services, for example

• Different research processes and information sources• Varying perceptions of retailers and manufacturers• No such thing as a totally green consumer or purchase

Third study

• Intended to: – build on previous studies– achieve a large scale survey– test typology

• BUT!• Difficult to transfer qualitative findings into a

quantitative instrument• Limitations in format and size• Disentangling motivations, behaviour, intentions

Survey

• Short questionnaire sent to 3000 households in Sheffield, UK during November 2007

• Focused on specific area - Chapelgreen• Addresses purchased from commercial data provider• Questionnaire divided into following sections:

– Participation– Frequency– Attitudes– Information use and different product/service sectors

• Response rate of 22%

The sample – 657 respondentsGender Male 43% Female

57%

Age 25 or under 3% 26-35 9% 36-45 17% 46-55 24% 56-65 22% Over 65

25%

Occupation Full time employment 37% Part time employment 19% Retired 35% At home caring for others 3% Unemployed 1% Student 1% Other 4%

Analysis

• Questionnaire was structured around a Likert scale for participation and attitudes

• And a simple tick box for information use• Focus of analysis:

– Participation in green/ethical activities– Attitudes towards such activities– Patterns in information seeking– Support/rejection of our proposed typology

0 20 40 60 80 100

Reduce water use

Reduce energy consumption

Recycle household waste

Buy low energy light bulbs

Use local shops

Avoid over-packaged goods

Reuse things

Avoid flying

Buy locally produced goods

Avoid driving

Boycott unethical companies

Compost household waste

Use public transport

Buy fair-trade

Choose organic

Always

Usually

Participation in green/ethical activities

Percentage of respondents who always/usually participate in this activity.

Other activities mentioned

• Grow own veg

• Don’t over-shop

• Select green energy supplier

• Never use carrier bags

• Encourage recycling at work

• Recycle ink cartridges

• Buy goods that are not tested on animals

• Dispose of litter correctly

• Support paganism

• Home improvements to improve environmental impact

• Support Oxfam/charities• Shop in charity shops/car boot

sales• Donate unwanted items to

charity• Mend/repair before discarding• Wash the car in the rain• Pick up dog dirt when walking

the dogs• Observe conservation

guidelines• Teleconferencing at work• Protest against building on a

green belt

Attitudes to green/ethical issues

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

I am not really interested in green or ethical issues.*

I try to be green or ethical in every aspect of my life.

It's my duty to investigate the impact my choices have on

the environment.I take on new 'green/ethical' activities if I know they will

make a diff erence.I participate in one or two specific areas of 'green/ethical'

activity.I actively seek information on how to adopt a 'green/ethical'

lifestyle.I often tell other people what I know about how to be more

green and/or ethical.

Strongly agree

Agree

Percentage of respondents who strongly agree/agree with this statement.* Reverse scored for consistency - % respondents disagree/disagree strongly

Information seeking0 20 40 60 80 100

In-store information e.g. leaflets

Manufacturer's brochure/packaging

Friend or relative

Internet

Newspaper/magazine article or TV programme

Consumer publication e.g. 'Which'

Specialist source of 'green/ethical' information

Large

Medium

Small

Everyday

Percentage of respondents who cited this source for each type of product

Further analysis to investigate our proposed typology

• Exploratory factor analysis of 15 specified activities• Clustered respondents according to the 15 activities• Labelled clusters and tested validity

Exploratory factor analysis of 15 specific activities

• Principal components with oblimin rotation

• 4 factors extracted:– Purchasing behaviour (buy fair trade/local/organic, avoid

over-packaged goods, use local shops, boycott unethical companies)

– Travel choices (use public transport, avoid flying/driving)– Reduction (energy and water consumption)– Recycling (recycling, composting, reusing)

Cluster analysis of respondents by activities

• Several different algorithms (hierarchical and non hierarchical)

• 5 group solution:– Active across all areas (14%)– Focus on recycling (19%)– Focus on reducing (28%)– Focus on travel (13%)– Less active (26%)

Active Focus on recycling

Focus on reducing

Focus on travel

Less active

5 activity groups

1

2

3

4

5

95

% C

I

Investigate impact

Every aspect of my life

Actively seek info

One or two specific areas

Tell people what I know

Make a difference

Not really interested (reverse scored)

Group attitudes

Stronglyagree

Strongly disagree

Active Focus on recycling

Focus on reducing

Focus on travel

Less active

5 activity groups

1

2

3

4

5

95

% C

I

Investigate impact

Every aspect of my life

Actively seek info

One or two specific areas

Tell people what I know

Make a difference

Not really interested (reverse scored)

It’s my duty to investigate the impact my choices have on the environment.

Stronglyagree

Strongly disagree

I actively seek information on how to adopt a ‘green/ethical’ lifestyle.

Active Focus on recycling

Focus on reducing

Focus on travel

Less active

5 activity groups

1

2

3

4

5 Investigate impact

Every aspect of my life

Actively seek info

One or two specific areas

Tell people what I know

Make a difference

Not really interested (reverse scored)

Stronglyagree

Strongly disagree

Information seeking behaviour

• Actives more likely to use specialist publications (around 10%) and less likely to use the Internet

• Less actives more likely to use the Internet (30% - 50%). Very few use specialist and consumer publications

Implications for our proposed typology

• Exceptors – the most active group?• Selectors – the groups more focused on reduction,

travel and recycling?• Translators – the less active group?

Conclusions

• Possible to identify different patterns in behaviour• Groups focused on a particular set of activities• Differences in attitudes• Patterns in information seeking and dissemination• Some demographic differences between groupings

• Further work: back to qualitative research?