Survey Results – Part 1: Social influence of significant others regarding green consumer decision making

SECTION 2: THE EFFECTS OF COMPLYING TO SUBJECTIVE NORMS
In my research I used a modified version of the Theory of Planned Behavior to understand green consumer behavior in the outdoor sports industry better. The basic idea behind this psychological model is the following. Alongside previous authors, I argue that five different key factors influence an individual’s purchasing intention when making sustainable consumer decisions:

1. Their positive or negative attitudes towards the effects of the specific buying decision, which consist of a function of (product-related) beliefs and expectations about the likelihood of their occurence (discussed in the previous blog);
2. The positive or negative influence that significant others in the individuals social surroundings exert on the buying decision (the so-called “Subjective Norms” factor);
3. The perceived lack of control about the behavior or obstacles that hinder the buying process (e.g. a lack of availability of sustainable clothing in local stores);
4. A feeling of ethical obligation;
5. The effects of green consumer self-identity or in this context, the influence a certain context-related measure of self-identity, called environmental identity has.

While “environmental identity” (measuring someone’s relatedness to nature) was the main variable I discussed in my thesis, subjective norms had also been part of the model but received less attention. Therefore, this blog entry is giving some further inside about the results regarding the influence of the social world everybody is embed in.

Mythbuster: Increased water use of organic cotton?

A little while ago I talked to the head of a well-known snowboard brand who is very much in favor of sustainability and tries to push this topic within the company. Against quite a bit of resistance he manages to overcome some internal obstacles to launch multiple products containing organic cotton. At one of the first press conferences announcing this new move he got some very critical feedback from a, let’s call him “green” journalist that said: “Well, congratulations, you have now moved to a type of garment that uses up even more water than with the previously used classical cotton.”

Since that conversation I was interested to find out if that statement was really true and if organic cotton is not such a good idea afterall. So let’s get to the bottom of the matter.

Ecotainment at its best: Terje at the Arctic Challenge

Do you own any ‘environmentally friendly’ outerwear?