Factors contributing in the formation of consumers´ environmental consciousness and shaping green purchasing decisions

It is well known that the most powerful actors in the supply chain are clients. If the market stops buying products because of a weak environmental performance, the rest of the supply chain is left with one option: address the problem and increase the perceived environmental performance of their products. Great deal of studies in many fields (psychology, sociology, environmental studies, marketing, etc.) and for many decades had suggested that environmental consciousness (EC) plays an important role in the consumers´ green purchasing decision. In this paper we develop a conceptual model where environmental consciousness, willingness to pay extra money, and perceived environmental performance of the product and the company impact directly and indirectly green purchasing decisions. It is also proposed that two categories of factors determine the level of consumers´ environmental consciousness (CEC). The first category pertains to the consumers and is called intrinsic factors such as: demographics and psychological variables. Extrinsic factors like family, media and culture constitute the second category proposed in this paper. Several research propositions are discussed.