Consumers’ purchase intention towards eco-friendly packaging in Kidapawan City, Philippines

Abstract

The severity of the plastic problem in the Philippines has prompted the public and private sectors to take measures to address it. As the country shifts to sustainable ways, information about green consumer behaviour is essential to effectively implement policies and programmes. This study aimed to determine consumers’ level of purchase intention towards eco-friendly packaging, whether a significant difference in consumers’ purchase intention exists when they are grouped according to socio-demographic characteristics and identify the factors that significantly affect consumers’ purchase intention. A total of 393 consumers from Kidapawan City were selected as respondents using purposive random sampling. The results revealed that respondents have a high level of purchase intention for eco-friendly packaging. There were also significant differences in the level of purchase intention when the respondents were grouped according to age and sex. Notably, females had a higher level of purchase intention. The findings from the hierarchical moderated regression analysis show that attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, environmental concern, awareness, willingness to pay and quality significantly and positively influence purchase intention towards eco-friendly packaging. In particular, it willingness to pay, quality and awareness strongly affect purchase intention. Meanwhile, the moderating variables do not affect the dependent and independent variables. The results of the study infer that purchase intention is greater among consumers when they have favourable attitudes and supportive social circles, perceive that it is easy to buy eco-friendly packaging, are more willing to support or participate in environmental initiatives, more knowledgeable, more willing to pay and have a positive perception of the quality of eco-friendly packaging.