Journal of Science and Technology Policy Management

The attitude and purchasing of female consumers towards green marketing

related to cosmetic industry
Aakanksha Singhal, Garima Malik,
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Aakanksha Singhal, Garima Malik, (2018) "The attitude and purchasing of female consumers
towards green marketing related to cosmetic industry", Journal of Science and Technology Policy
Management, https://doi.org/10.1108/JSTPM-11-2017-0063
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Green
The attitude and purchasing of marketing
female consumers towards green
marketing related to
cosmetic industry
Aakanksha Singhal Received 26 November 2017
Revised 11 July 2018
Department of Commerce, Amity University, Noida, India, and 14 September 2018
Accepted 28 September 2018
Garima Malik
Amity University, Noida, India
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Abstract
Purpose – In the current scenario, consumers are looking for the well-known brands having quality which
satisfies their needs. Most people value the environment and belief to protect it. They are aware about the
environmental problems, but it is not necessary that their purchasing should lie on this basis. There may be a
difference between their attitude towards eco-friendly cosmetic products and the purchasing, which lies on some
important factors such as product features, price, promotion and convenience to purchase. This paper aims to
discuss the relationship between different age, education and income groups of female consumers with the
attitude of female consumers towards green cosmetic products. This paper also highlights the purchasing of
female consumers towards eco-friendly cosmetic products and the relationship of it with their attitude.
Design/methodology/approach – The sample of 100 female consumers from Delhi region has been taken.
Statistics have been used with the help of SPSS. Cluster analysis has used in this paper to group the female
respondents according to their attitude towards the green cosmetic products, and factor analysis is used to
combine the correlated variables (describing the attitude of female consumers towards green cosmetic products)
into factors. Tests such as multivariate test, chi-square test and correlation have applied to find out the objectives.
Findings – It has found that the female consumers having different age and education levels do not have
different attitude towards green cosmetic products, but the income level has an impact on it. The women of different
income groups are having different attitude towards the pricing and recommendation of green cosmetic products.
Second, there is an impact of green cosmetic products on purchasing of female consumers. Third, there is a negative
relationship between the attitude and purchasing of female consumers towards green cosmetic products.
Research limitations/implications – In this study, the respondents are taken from Delhi region in India.
Future research could consider a larger or different region for different responses. Further, the variables age,
education and income level have been considered for this study. For the wider aspect, other demographic and
cultural variables such as occupation, gender, marital status and various cultural and sub-cultural variables
based on religions can highlight the other way of green marketing effect. Only two dimensions of attitude and
purchasing of female consumers were represented. For the further research scope, other dimensions such as
consumers’ intentions and perception, availability and price of green cosmetic products could be considered.
Practical implications – The relation between the attitude and purchasing of female consumers are
described, which can be helpful for managers for the better understanding of female consumers related with the
green cosmetic products and to re-frame the marketing strategies. The low and negative correlation between
these two variables can change the existing strategies of managers and can direct the marketers to find out
factors which influence this relationship and make effective strategies for positioning green cosmetic products.
Originality/value – This research paper is based on the research conducted through secondary and
primary database. The content presented in this research paper is original.
Keywords Green marketing, Consumer attitude, Eco-friendly cosmetic products, Journal of Science and Technology
Policy Management
Female consumers, Green cosmetics products © Emerald Publishing Limited
2053-4620
Paper type Research paper DOI 10.1108/JSTPM-11-2017-0063
 JSTPM Introduction
This is the responsibility of all (which includes government, business, society) to protect the
environment so that we can handover a clean world to the next generation. But the question
arises that what we are doing for this?
In today’s era, consumer is the king. There are numerous eco-friendly and non-eco-
friendly cosmetic products available in market, and it all depends upon the consumers’
attitude and purchasing towards it.
Green marketing consists of satisfying the consumers through selling goods and services
by keeping the environmental factors in view. Green marketing or environmental marketing
consists of all activities designed to generate and facilitate any exchanges intended to
satisfy human needs or wants such that the satisfaction of these needs and wants occurs,
with minimal detrimental impact on the natural environment (Polonsky, 1994b, p. 2):
Green Marketing is the marketing of products that are presumed to be environmentally safe.
Thus green marketing incorporates a broad range of activities, including product modification,
changes to the production process, packaging changes, as well as modifying advertising. Yet
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defining green marketing is not a simple task where several meanings intersect and contradict
each other; an example of this will be the existence of varying social, environmental and retail
definitions attached to this term. Other similar terms used are Environmental Marketing and
Ecological Marketing.–American Marketing Association

Green consumer as one who avoids products that are likely to endanger the health of the
consumer or other; cause significant damage to the environment during manufacture, use or
disposal; cosnume a disproportionate amount of energy; cause unnecessary waste; use materials
derved from threatened species or environments; involve unnecessary use of, or cruelty to
animals; adversely affect other countries. – Elkington (1994)

Green marketing, also alternatively known as environmental marketing and sustainable

marketing, refers to an organization’s effort at designing, promoting, pricing and distributing
products that will not harm the environment. – Pride and Ferrell (1993)
Sometimes, our attitude defines the decision to purchase. The positive attitude shows the
positive purchase decision. According to the ABC theory of attitude, attitude influences the
way a person acts or reacts. The other one is the attitude-behaviour consistency; it has
explained a strong relationship between attitude and behaviour. According to this study,
people are rational and behave rationally and there is always a consistency between attitude
and behaviour. The attitude of a person predicts his/her behaviour and purchase decision is
one of the parts of consumer behaviour.

Literature review
Consumers believe in green marketing concept and are aware about the advantages of going
green. They agree that there is a need for a huge investment to develop green products, and
for that, government initiative has a very important role for green companies. Consumers’
attitude towards green branding is highly positive (Hemantha, 2012). Consumers have a
positive attitude towards green marketing. They are aware about the environmental issues
and prefer green products in future as well. The companies that can establish the green
image have a distinct advantage in the market place (Saxena and Khandelwal, 2008). On the
contrary, a low level of environmental awareness and low level of green consumerism have
been found among young adult and educated consumers. Due to less availability of green
products, the green consumerism is its initial stage of growth and there is a need for the
integrated environmental communication to educate consumers (Jaiswal and Kant, 2018).
 The green purchase behaviour, attitude towards green products and environmental concern Green
are the three dimensions that affect green advertising (Schmuck et al., 2017). Environmental marketing
concern is the strongest precedent of attitude and willingness to purchase green products
(Jaiswal and Kant, 2018). Environmental knowledge and altruism affect the environmental
attitude of young consumers. This environmental attitude influences the purchase
behaviour of green products for the same segment, which means that the consumers who are
having a favourable environmental attitude are more likely to purchase the green products
(Uddin and Khan, 2018).
The two major barriers of green marketing are the low level of awareness and trust on
eco-friendly products. They believe on well-developed known brands. The products having
a great exposure are likely to sell in a large quantity. Finally, there is a gap between the
values associated with the environment, and the action taken for its protection as the
consumers’ belief and behaviour towards being green is not on the same direction
(Maheshwari, 2014). Thus, it is very essential for the firms to aware the consumers and
ensure them that they are willing to purchase it. For this, the marketers play a vital role.
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They should communicate about the benefits and need for green products (Singhal and
Singhal, 2015). There is a need to target the market and communicate with the credible
information about the green marketing will help the business. Although the consumers are
willing to pay more to have the greener and cleaner environment, economic aspect cannot be
neglected by marketers and they need to understand the implications of green marketing.
Energy efficient electronic goods should be used. Focus on recycle of papers, metals, plastic
is needed (Ahuja, 2015). The majority of respondents are highly concerned about the
environment and believe that the responsibility of environmental protection lies on the
government and the companies. The government and the companies are active about green
marketing but still there is a need to do more. The awareness level and purchasing of eco-
friendly products is same irrespective of gender and age. Government can enhance the
consumer’s awareness level in association with NGO’s, and by developing the affordable
and appropriate technologies (Singh, 2013).
The attitude on products is the major factor which influences the purchasing behaviour
of consumers. (Saifur Rahman et al., 2017). Attitude, conscientiousness, extraversion and
openness predict the buyers’ intention to purchase green products. On the other side,
agreeableness does not have influence on buyers’ intention probably due to the involvement
of socially desirable qualities (Sun et al., 2018). The purchase intention was influenced by the
perceived value of consumers towards green products. The study shows a high perceived
value of green products to them and exhibits a high readiness to accept it. Further, personal
norms and environmental concern do not show any consequence on intention to purchase of
green products (Chaudhary, 2018). Attitude towards the environment influence the
behavioural intention directly and positively (Khan and Sridhar, 2018).
Those who have perceived behavioural control, stronger attitude, perceived sense of
responsibility and self-identity towards the environment are more probable to be green. This
readiness to be green do not influenced but external factors, such as families, obligation etc.,
but comes within the internal commitment. Also, the consumers would purchase the green
products when their belief will gain social approval (Arli et al., 2018). The young and
educated consumers are more internally control to make decision in favour of environment
and would include a high purchase of ecological safe products in their regular buying
behaviour Green purchase intention has a direct influence on purchase behaviour of green
products (Jaiswal and Kant, 2018). On the other side, a positive attitude of consumers
towards social media post including green marketing has been concluded as compared to
the social media, which do not involve green marketing elements. This applies to the
 JSTPM purchase intent as well. Higher purchase intent of consumers has analyzed with the social
media post having green marketing element (Townsend, 2017). Collectivism has more
impact on attitude and subjective norm. People give up their individual choice and prefer to
make decision which is socially approved. Attitude towards green products have a highest
impact on intention to purchase green products as compared to subjective norm and internal
perceived behavioural control (Sreen et al., 2018).
The consumers’ attitude is a best predictor of purchase intention. Even, perceived consumer
effectiveness has an impact on attitude and purchase intention of green products (Jaiswal and
Kant, 2018). A positive perception towards the importance of businesses indulging in green
practices has been found out. The consumers also have a positive attitude to use the green
products but on the other side, they are less willing to consider the green aspect while
purchasing the products. There is also an influence of perceived importance of marketing and
green corporate practices on attitude of consumers (Soerjanatamihardja and Fachira, 2017).
The consumers perceived green products as “safe for environment” and “healthy”. They also
“strongly recommend” it to the others. Most of the respondents appreciate the producers for
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green packaging and believe that there is enough information on package. Even they rely on
the information given on the package. It has also found that the consumers have same
perception of green products irrespective of education and income (Trivedi, 2018).
There is a direct and positive relationship between the consumers’ intention and
behaviour (Ferraz et al., 2017). Some major factors, i.e. economic factors, psychological
factors, situational/demographic factors and environmental factors, influence the buying
and using behaviour of consumers. The consumers are aware about the green products but
their purchasing depends on the availability of the products (Saifur Rahman et al., 2017).The
four forms of marketing mix, i.e. green product, green price, green place and green
promotion, have a positive relationship with purchase intention. Also, the green products
and green advertisement influence the purchase decision (Mahmoud, 2018). The green
products and packages impact the buying decisions of consumers. With this, the green
distribution and promotion having information of environmental friendly products also
impact the buying decision of food (Wanninayake and Randiwela, 2008).
According to the gender, the attitude of men and women are the same towards green
products. It has found that the older and richer consumers have less favourable attitude
towards green products. The attitude of older consumers is not favourable towards the
green initiatives taken by various companies but the richer consumers appreciate about the
same. Education wise, attitude of consumers at each education level is the same towards
green products and initiatives taken by companies (Gupta and Abbas, 2013). The
demographic profiles of consumers play a vital role in consumer behaviour towards green
marketing. The age, income, occupation and education have been considered as
demographic variables. It has been found that the younger generation is more concerned
about the saving the ecology as compared with the older one. On the other hand, there is a
direct influence of education and occupation on the purchase of green products. The
business class people, higher-middle-income group, post graduate degree, younger and male
consumers are more likely environmentalist as compared with the older people, lower/
middle income group. From the study, it has also revealed that the consumers’ attitude and
behaviour towards environment is inconsistent, which create a need to educate consumers
(Sahu, 2012, Green Marketing: An attitudal and behavioural analysis of consumers in pune,
Jan 2012).
Price is a major barrier in the purchase of green products. It is also difficult for the
consumers to identify the eco-brands and eco-label (Singh and Soniya, 2017). Most of the
consumers are not willing to pay more for the green products. Even, the green marketing
 activities held by the companies do not have any impact on consumers. The majority of Green
consumers do not want to repurchase the green products from the market (Patil and Shelke, marketing
2017). The customers are willing to purchase green vehicle, which is an indicator of their
concern for the environment. The vehicle companies can easily drive customers to their
showroom by providing high fuel efficiency and MPG. But most of the customers are not
willing to pay extra for the green vehicles. Thus the automakers should keep in mind this
important factor which de-motivates the customers to purchase it and channelize their
interest in green vehicles (Kaur, 2015). On the other hand, most of the consumers are willing
to pay extra to purchase the products of those companies which consider green practices
(Soerjanatamihardja and Fachira, 2017). A positive relationship was found between the
consumers’ willingness to pay with their purchase intention, which means that consumers
are ready to pay premium to purchase green products. This could be due to a high perceived
value of green products (Chaudhary, 2018).
It has been found out the negative relationship of purchase decision and green
marketing. With this, majority of the respondents are not concerned about the
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organizational polluting environment, whereas 50 per cent of respondents agree that the
organization should take a corrective step towards green marketing. Many companies
should abide by the environmental laws and concentrate on enhancing the loyalty of
consumers, product performance with the hold on high prices as many consumers are not
willing to pay for the green products. Thus the consumers’ purchase decision making is not
affected by the green marketing (Bukhari, 2011).
The consumers purchase decision is not affected by the product price, its availability and
environmental claims given by the company. According to the study, the consumers’
purchase intentions are not influenced by the perceived effectiveness of environmental
performance of product. The environmental claims made by the companies for their green
brands do not attract the consumers to purchase the product. Neither price nor availability
of green products makes any difference in the mind of consumers to buy green products.
The brand name also does not play any role in purchase decision. Thus, the consumers
randomly take decision of purchase. Hence, it is necessary to guide the consumers at right
direction to take correct decision while purchasing green products (Sahu and Ranjan, 2016,
Green marketing Myopia, 2016).
The consumers can be categorized into true blue greens, green backs, sprouts, grousers
and basic browns and have found that the percentage of consumers of basic browns (55.4
per cent) are the highest, followed by sprouts (32.6 per cent), green backs (7.2 per cent), true
blue greens (4 per cent) and grousers (0.8 per cent). It means that the consumers are having a
low environmental attitude and behaviour and there is a need to educate them. All
environmentalist can be divided into three categories, i.e. planet passionate, health fanatics
and animal lovers and found that most of the consumers are concern about their own health.
Planet passionate and animal lover came thereafter (Sahu, 2012, Green Marketing: An
attitudal and behavioural analysis of consumers in pune, Jan 2012).

Objectives
The objectives are:

to examine the statistical difference between the age, education and income level
with attitude of female consumers towards green cosmetic products.

to find out the impact of green cosmetic products on the purchasing of female
consumers.
 JSTPM
to determine the relationship between attitude and purchasing of female consumers
towards green cosmetic products.

Hypotheses

H10. There is a no significant difference between the age of female consumers and the
attitude towards green cosmetic products.

H11. There is a significant difference between the age of female consumers and the
attitude towards green cosmetic products.

H20. There is a no significant difference between the education of female consumers and
the attitude towards green cosmetic products.
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H21. There is a significant difference between the education of female consumers and
the attitude towards green cosmetic products.

H30. There is a no significant difference between the income of female consumers and
the attitude towards green cosmetic products.

H31. There is a significant difference between the income of female consumers and the
attitude towards green cosmetic products.

H40. There is no impact of green cosmetic products on the purchasing of female

consumers.

H41. There is no impact of green cosmetic products on the purchasing of female

consumers.

H50. There is a no significant relationship between the attitude and purchasing of

female consumers towards green cosmetic products.

H51. There is a significant relationship between the attitude and purchasing of female
consumers towards green cosmetic products.

Research methodology
The data have been taken through primary and secondary research. For the primary
data, structured questionnaire was used to take responses from women. A five-point
Likert scale, with “1 being strongly disagree” and “5 being strongly agree”, has been
used in this study to collect the responses of female consumers. Survey was conducted
during February-March 2018. The questionnaire is divided into three parts. The first
part contains consumers’ attitude towards green cosmetic products. The second part
consists of purchasing of green cosmetic products, and the third part describes the
 demographic details of female respondents. Various articles in journals and websites Green
helped in taking the secondary data. Prior to the main survey, a pilot study was marketing
conducted to validate the items of the instrument on a sample of 23 female respondents
who are using green cosmetic products. They have asked to comment on the length,
format and wording of the statements of questions. The results of this pilot study lead
to minor changes in the wording of some questions.
The sample size of this study was women from the Delhi region. The female respondents
belong with different age, education and income groups as required in the study. Due to
limitation of time and cost, the sampling method used in this research paper is convenience
sampling.

Analysis and interpretation

Cluster analysis is used as a method to reach the goal of this study. Cluster analysis is a
group of multivariate technique whose primary purpose is to group objects based on
the characteristics them possess. (Paul, 2004; Pham et al., 2004). In this study, cluster
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analysis is used to analyze the number of clusters of female respondents to know how
the consumers’ attitude is similar or differ towards green cosmetic products.
From Table I, it has been found out that there are two clusters: 52 female respondents in
Cluster 1 and 48 female respondents in Cluster 2 (Tables II and III).

Cluster 1
Cluster 1 has 52 respondents forming a part of this cluster. This cluster is majorly
neutral with the attitude of consumers towards green marketing. Their responses are as
follows:

They are neutral to pay premium price for green cosmetic products.

They are neutral with the statement that they know about the location of eco-
friendly cosmetics displays in supermarket.

They are also neutral with the paying attention to friends/family opinion concerning
eco-friendly cosmetics products.

Cluster 2
Cluster 2 consists of 48 female respondents. This cluster has favourable attitude towards
green marketing. Their attributes are as follows:

They are agreed to pay extra prices for the eco-friendly cosmetics products.

They agree that they know where the eco-friendly cosmetics products are located in
the supermarket.

They agree with the statement that they pay attention to the friends/family opinion
for eco-friendly cosmetics products.

Cluster
1 52.000
2 48.000 Table I.
Valid 100.000 Number of cases in
Missing 0.000 each cluster
 JSTPM Cluster Error
Mean Square Df Mean Square Df F Significance

I appreciate the package/design of eco-friendly

cosmetic product 10.566 1 0.429 98 24.659 0.000
I understand the information on eco-friendly
cosmetic products packaging 5.428 1 0.378 98 14.346 0.000
I believe in the information on eco-friendly
cosmetic products packaging 8.681 1 0.565 98 15.368 0.000
I am willing to pay a premium price for an eco-
friendly cosmetic product 5.170 1 0.496 98 10.428 0.002
I know where the eco-friendly cosmetics
displays are located in my supermarket 30.079 1 0.571 98 52.711 0.000
I easily find eco-friendly cosmetic products in a
supermarket 17.668 1 0.616 98 28.699 0.000
I pay attention to my friends/family opinion
concerning eco-friendly cosmetic product 12.074 1 0.425 98 28.385 0.000
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I recommend eco-friendly cosmetic products to

my friends/family 8.170 1 0.445 98 18.355 0.000
Table II.
ANOVA Note: All items have been significant at the 0.05 level in the formation of clusters

Cluster
1 2

I appreciate the package/design of eco-friendly cosmetic product 4 4

I understand the information on eco-friendly cosmetic products packaging 4 4
I believe in the information on eco-friendly cosmetic products packaging 4 4
I am willing to pay a premium price for an eco-friendly cosmetic product 3 4
I know where the eco-friendly cosmetics displays are located in my supermarket 3 4
I easily find eco-friendly cosmetic products in a supermarket 3 3
I pay attention to my friends/family opinion concerning eco-friendly cosmetic product 3 4
I recommend eco-friendly cosmetic products to my friends/family 4 4
Table III.
Final cluster centres Notes: 1 = strongly disagree; 2 = disagree; 3 = neutral; 4 = agree; 5 = strongly agree

The female respondents in Cluster 1 are neutral to pay more for eco-friendly cosmetic
products, to pay attention on location of display on eco-friendly cosmetic products and on
opinions given by friends and family. Thus, the marketer has a big opportunity to change
the attitude from neutral to the positive side for green marketing through advertisements
and personal counselling.
On the other hand, the female respondents in Cluster 2 are having positive attitude
towards green cosmetic products.

Factor analysis
Explanatory factor analysis is used to identify the underlying constructs and investigate
relationships among the variables. To test the suitability of the data for factor analysis, the
following steps are taken:

The correlation matrix is computed and examined. It reveals that there are enough
correlations to go ahead with factor analysis.

To test the sampling adequacy, Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling Green
adequacy is computed, which is found to be 0.620. It indicates that sample is good marketing
enough for sampling.

The overall significance of correlation matrices is tested with Bartlett test of
sphericity (Chi-square = 355.823, approximately, and significant at 0.000) provided,
as well as support for the validity of the factor analysis of the data set (Table IV).

Hence, all these standards indicate that the data are suitable for factor analysis.
Principal component analysis was used for extracting factor. Orthogonal rotation
with varimax was applied. The latent root criterion is used for extraction of factors.
As per it, only the factors having eigenvalues greater than 1 are considered
significant; all the factors with eigenvalues less than 1 are considered insignificant
and disregarded.

For this study, there were only seven factors having eigenvalues exceeding 1. The
eigenvalues for factors after rotation are 3.431, 2.958, 2.163, 2.013, 1.979, 1.666 and
1.323. The percentage of the total variance, which is used as an index to determine
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how well the factor solution accounts for what the variables together represent, is
77.666.

As shown in Table V, attitude of female consumers towards green cosmetic products is a

three-dimensional construct. These factors are grouped into three groups.
Factor 1 (attitude towards green cosmetics packaging). This factor is loaded by three
variables (0.842, 0.788 and 0.693) that briefly describe the attitude of female consumers
towards green cosmetic products packaging that whether they understand and believe the
eco-friendly packaging and appreciate the package or design of green cosmetic products.
Factor 2 (attitude towards green cosmetics location). The second factor includes two
variables (0.868 and 0.867) that describe the attitude of female consumers towards green

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy 0.620

Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity 355.823
Approx. Chi-Square Table IV.
df 190 KMO and Bartlett’s
Sig. 0.000 test

Component
1 2 3

I understand the information on eco-friendly cosmetic products packaging 0.842

I appreciate the package/design of eco-friendly cosmetic product 0.788
I believe in the information on eco-friendly cosmetic products packaging 0.693
I know where the eco-friendly cosmetics displays are located in my supermarket 0.868
I easily find eco-friendly cosmetic products in a supermarket 0.867
I recommend eco-friendly cosmetic products to my friends/family 0.798
I am willing to pay a premium price for an eco-friendly cosmetic product 0.739
I pay attention to my friends/family opinion concerning eco-friendly cosmetic product 0.599
Table V.
Notes: Extraction method: principal component analysis; rotation method: varimax with Kaiser Rotated component
normalization; aRotation converged in 4 iterations matrixa
 JSTPM cosmetic products location. It describes whether the female consumers are aware about the
location of green cosmetic products displays and can easily find the same.
Factor 3 (attitude towards green cosmetics pricing and recommendations). The third
factor loaded by the three variables (0.798, 0.739 and 0.599) which describe the attitude of
female consumers towards green cosmetic products pricing and recommendations i.e.
whether they are willing to pay extra for the green cosmetic products recommend the green
cosmetic products to the friends and family and pay attention when recommended the same
by others.
Relationship between age, education and income level with attitude of female consumers
towards green cosmetic products. MANOVA has used to find out the different attitude of
female consumers towards green cosmetic products with respect to their age, education and
income level.
With the help of factor analysis, three factors have been found associated with the
attitude of female consumers towards green cosmetic products, i.e. attitude towards green
cosmetic packaging, attitude towards green cosmetic displays and attitude towards green
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cosmetics pricing and recommendations. Thus, the statistical difference of age, education
and income will be found out with these three factors, respectively.

Difference between the age, education and income level with attitude towards green cosmetic
products packaging of female consumers
MANOVA has used to find out the difference between the age and the attitude of female
consumers towards green cosmetic products packaging.
In Table VI, the calculated Sig value is 0.320 (according to the Wilks’ Lambda formula),
which is greater than 0.05. Thus, we accept the null hypothesis, i.e. there is no significant
difference between the age of female consumers and the attitude towards green cosmetic
products packaging. Thus, the attitude towards green cosmetics packaging do not differ
according to the age of female consumers.
Table VII shows difference between the education and the attitude of female consumers
towards green cosmetic products packaging.
In Table VII, the calculated Sig value is 0.061 (according to the Wilks’ Lambda formula),
which is greater than 0.05. Thus, we accept the null hypothesis, i.e. there is no significant
difference between the education of female consumers and the attitude towards green

Effect Value F Hypothesis df Error df Significance

Intercept
Pillai’s Trace 0.958 7.152E2a 3.000 93.000 0.000
Wilks’ Lambda 0.042 7.152E2a 3.000 93.000 0.000
Hotelling’s Trace 23.072 7.152E2a 3.000 93.000 0.000
Roy’s Largest Root 23.072 7.152E2a 3.000 93.000 0.000
Age
Pillai’s Trace 0.106 1.159 9.000 285.000 0.321
Wilks’ Lambda 0.896 1.162 9.000 226.488 0.320
Hotelling’s Trace 0.114 1.161 9.000 275.000 0.320
Roy’s Largest Root 0.091 2.875b 3.000 95.000 0.040
Table VI. Notes: aExact statistic; bThe statistic is an upper bound on F that yields a lower bound on the significance
Multivariate testsc level; cDesign: Intercept þ age
 Effect Value F Hypothesis df Error df Significance
Green
marketing
Intercept
Pillai’s Trace 0.956 6.806E2a 3.000 94.000 0.000
Wilks’ Lambda 0.044 6.806E2a 3.000 94.000 0.000
Hotelling’s Trace 21.723 6.806E2a 3.000 94.000 0.000
Roy’s Largest Root 21.723 6.806E2a 3.000 94.000 0.000
Education
Pillai’s Trace 0.163 1.843 9.000 288.000 0.060
Wilks’ Lambda 0.843 1.847 9.000 228.922 0.061
Hotelling’s Trace 0.178 1.837 9.000 278.000 0.062
Roy’s Largest Root 0.113 3.609b 3.000 96.000 0.016

Notes: aExact statistic; bThe statistic is an upper bound on F that yields a lower bound on the significance Table VII.
level; cDesign: Intercept þ Education Multivariate testsc
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cosmetic products packaging. Thus, the attitude towards green cosmetics packaging are
similar for different education of female consumers.
The difference between the income and the attitude of female consumers towards green
cosmetic products packaging is shown in the below table:
In Table VIII, the calculated Sig value is 0.158 (according to the Wilks’ Lambda formula),
which is greater than 0.05. Thus, we accept the null hypothesis, i.e. there is no significant
difference between the income of female consumers and the attitude towards green cosmetic
products packaging. Thus, female consumers belong to different income level are having the
similar attitude towards green cosmetics packaging.

Difference between the age, education and income level with attitude of female consumers
towards green cosmetic products location
Table IX shows the difference between the age and the attitude of female consumers
towards green cosmetic products location.
In Table IX, it can be observed that the significance value according to the Wilks’ lambda
is 0.601, which is greater than the 0.05. Thus, we accept the null hypothesis that is there is no

Effect Value F Hypothesis df Error df Significance

Intercept
Pillai’s Trace 0.904 2.915E2a 3.000 93.000 0.000
Wilks’ Lambda 0.096 2.915E2a 3.000 93.000 0.000
Hotelling’s Trace 9.404 2.915E2a 3.000 93.000 0.000
Roy’s Largest Root 9.404 2.915E2a 3.000 93.000 0.000
Income p.a
Pillai’s Trace 0.166 1.395 12.000 285.000 0.168
Wilks’ Lambda 0.838 1.418 12.000 246.346 0.158
Hotelling’s Trace 0.188 1.437 12.000 275.000 0.149
Roy’s Largest Root 0.154 3.664b 4.000 95.000 0.008

Notes: aExact statistic; bThe statistic is an upper bound on F that yields a lower bound on the significance Table VIII.
level; cDesign: Intercept þ income_p.a Multivariate testsc
 JSTPM Effect Value F Hypothesis df Error df Significance

Intercept
Pillai’s Trace 0.863 2.996E2a 2.000 95.000 0.000
Wilks’ Lambda 0.137 2.996E2a 2.000 95.000 0.000
Hotelling’s Trace 6.306 2.996E2a 2.000 95.000 0.000
Roy’s Largest Root 6.306 2.996E2a 2.000 95.000 0.000
Age
Pillai’s Trace 0.047 0.766 6.000 192.000 0.597
Wilks’ Lambda 0.954 0.762a 6.000 190.000 0.601
Hotelling’s Trace 0.048 0.757 6.000 188.000 0.604
Roy’s Largest Root 0.039 1.258b 3.000 96.000 0.293
Table IX. Notes: aExact statistic; bThe statistic is an upper bound on F that yields a lower bound on the significance
Multivariate testsc level; cDesign: Intercept þ age
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significant difference between the age and the attitude of female consumers towards the
green cosmetic location. This means different age group of female consumers is having the
similar attitude towards the green cosmetics location.
Table X shows the difference between the education and the attitude of female
consumers towards green cosmetic products location.
The significance value according to the Wilks’ lambda is 0.530 (shown in Table X), which
is greater than the 0.05. Thus, we accept the null hypothesis that is there is no significant
difference between the education and the attitude of female consumers towards the green
cosmetic location. This means different education group of female consumers is having the
similar attitude towards the green cosmetics location.
The difference between the income level and the attitude of female consumers towards
green cosmetic products location are described below:
In Table XI, the significance value according to the Wilks’ lambda is 0.527, which is
greater than the 0.05. Thus, we accept the null hypothesis that is there is no significant
difference between the income level and the attitude of female consumers towards the green
cosmetic location. That means different income levels of female consumers are having the
similar attitude towards the green cosmetics location.

Effect Value F Hypothesis df Error df Significance

Intercept
Pillai’s Trace 0.853 2.746E2a 2.000 95.000 0.000
Wilks’ Lambda 0.147 2.746E2a 2.000 95.000 0.000
Hotelling’s Trace 5.781 2.746E2a 2.000 95.000 0.000
Roy’s Largest Root 5.781 2.746E2a 2.000 95.000 0.000
Education
Pillai’s Trace 0.052 0.851 6.000 192.000 0.532
Wilks’ Lambda 0.948 0.854a 6.000 190.000 0.530
Hotelling’s Trace 0.055 0.856 6.000 188.000 0.528
Roy’s Largest Root 0.055 1.749b 3.000 96.000 0.162
Table X. Notes: aExact statistic; bThe statistic is an upper bound on F that yields a lower bound on the significance
Multivariate testsc level; cDesign: Intercept þ Education
 Effect Value F Hypothesis df Error df Significance
Green
marketing
Intercept
Pillai’s Trace 0.708 1.137E2a 2.000 94.000 0.000
Wilks’ Lambda 0.292 1.137E2a 2.000 94.000 0.000
Hotelling’s Trace 2.419 1.137E2a 2.000 94.000 0.000
Roy’s Largest Root 2.419 1.137E2a 2.000 94.000 0.000
Incomep.a
Pillai’s Trace 0.072 0.893 8.000 190.000 0.523
Wilks’ Lambda 0.928 0.888a 8.000 188.000 0.527
Hotelling’s Trace 0.076 0.883 8.000 186.000 0.532
Roy’s Largest Root 0.058 1.379b 4.000 95.000 0.247

Notes: aExact statistic; bThe statistic is an upper bound on F that yields a lower bound on the significance Table XI.
level; cDesign: Intercept þ income_p.a Multivariate testsc
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Difference between the age, education and income level with attitude of female consumers
towards green cosmetic products pricing and recommendations
Table XII shows the difference between the age and the attitude of female consumers
towards green cosmetic products pricing and recommendations.
In Table XII, significance value is 0.389 from Wilks’ lambda formula, which is greater
than 0.05, which means we accept the null hypothesis. Thus, there is no significant
difference between the age and attitude of female consumers towards the green cosmetic
pricing and recommendations. The different age of female consumers has a similar attitude
towards the green cosmetics’ pricing and recommendations.
The difference between the education and the attitude of female consumers towards
green cosmetic products pricing and recommendations are shown below.
According to the Wilks’ lambda formula (shown in Table XIII), the significance value is
0.125, which is greater than 0.05, which means we accept the null hypothesis. Thus, there is no
significant difference between the education level and attitude of female consumers towards the
green cosmetic pricing and recommendations, i.e. the attitude towards the green cosmetics’
pricing and recommendations is similar irrespective of the education level of female consumers.
Table XIV shows difference between the income level and the attitude of female
consumers towards green cosmetic products pricing and recommendations.

Effect Value F Hypothesis df Error df Significance

Intercept
Pillai’s Trace 0.956 6.763E2a 3.000 94.000 0.000
Wilks’ Lambda 0.044 6.763E2a 3.000 94.000 0.000
Hotelling’s Trace 21.584 6.763E2a 3.000 94.000 0.000
Roy’s Largest Root 21.584 6.763E2a 3.000 94.000 0.000
Age
Pillai’s Trace 0.097 1.073 9.000 288.000 0.383
Wilks’ Lambda 0.905 1.066 9.000 228.922 0.389
Hotelling’s Trace 0.103 1.057 9.000 278.000 0.395
Roy’s Largest Root 0.067 2.128b 3.000 96.000 0.102

Notes: aExact statistic; bThe statistic is an upper bound on F that yields a lower bound on the significance Table XII.
level; cDesign: Intercept þ age Multivariate testsc
 JSTPM Effect Value F Hypothesis df Error df Significance

Intercept
Pillai’s Trace 0.953 6.358E2a 3.000 94.000 0.000
Wilks’ Lambda 0.047 6.358E2a 3.000 94.000 0.000
Hotelling’s Trace 20.290 6.358E2a 3.000 94.000 0.000
Roy’s Largest Root 20.290 6.358E2a 3.000 94.000 0.000
Education
Pillai’s Trace 0.140 1.566 9.000 288.000 0.125
Wilks’ Lambda 0.864 1.572 9.000 228.922 0.125
Hotelling’s Trace 0.152 1.568 9.000 278.000 0.125
Roy’s Largest Root 0.113 3.620b 3.000 96.000 0.016
Table XIII. Notes: aExact statistic; bThe statistic is an upper bound on F that yields a lower bound on the significance
Multivariate testsc level; cDesign: Intercept þ Education
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In Table XIV, significance value calculated from Wilks’ lambda formula is 0.032, which is
lesser than 0.05, which means we reject the null hypothesis. Thus, there is a significant
difference between the income level and attitude of female consumers towards the green
cosmetic pricing and recommendations, i.e. women belonging to different income levels have
different attitude towards the green cosmetics’ pricing and recommendations.
Impact of green cosmetic products on the purchasing of female consumers. The Pearson
chi-square is used to determine the impact of green cosmetic products on purchasing of
female consumers.
From Table XV, it can be seen that the Asymp Sig = 0, which is lesser than the
significance level, i.e. 0.05. Thus, we reject the null hypothesis. That means there is an
impact of green cosmetic products on purchase of female consumers.
Relationship between attitude and purchasing of female consumers towards green cos-
metic products. Correlation is used to find out the relationship between attitude and
purchasing of female consumers (Table XVI).
The Pearson correlation was computed between the attitudes and purchasing towards
green cosmetic products of female consumers. The result presented in the above table shows

Effect Value F Hypothesis df Error df Significance

Intercept
Pillai’s Trace 0.912 3.221E2a 3.000 93.000 0.000
Wilks’ Lambda 0.088 3.221E2a 3.000 93.000 0.000
Hotelling’s Trace 10.390 3.221E2a 3.000 93.000 0.000
Roy’s Largest Root 10.390 3.221E2a 3.000 93.000 0.000
Incomep.a
Pillai’s Trace 0.222 1.900 12.000 285.000 0.034
Wilks’ Lambda 0.789 1.929 12.000 246.346 0.032
Hotelling’s Trace 0.255 1.945 12.000 275.000 0.029
Roy’s Largest Root 0.184 4.373b 4.000 95.000 0.003
Table XIV. Notes: aExact statistic; bThe statistic is an upper bound on F that yields a lower bound on the significance
Multivariate testsc level; cDesign: Intercept þ incomep.a
 that the correlation is significant at 0.01 levels. The correlation between these two variables Green
is found 0.269, showing the negative correlation. The value is very near to 0, which means marketing
that there is very low correlation between these two variables. Thus, the relationship of
attitude and purchasing of green cosmetic products of female consumers is very low and
negatively correlated with each other.

Conclusion
The attitude towards green cosmetic products is divided into three factors, i.e. green
cosmetic products’ packaging, green cosmetic products’ location and green cosmetic
products’ pricing and recommendations. From the above analysis, it can be concluded that
the attitude of female consumers towards green cosmetic product packaging are same
irrespective of age, education and income level. Similarly, there is no different attitude of
female consumers, having different age, education and income level, towards green cosmetic
products’ location. On the other hand, the attitude of female consumers, towards green
cosmetic products’ pricing and recommendation, is similar with different age and education
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group but differ with different income group. This means the female consumers belonging
to different income groups have different attitude towards green cosmetic products’ pricing
and recommendation of it.
With this, it has also found that the green cosmetic products impact the purchasing of
female consumers. Their purchases are influenced by the presence of green cosmetic
products.
But the relationship between attitude and purchasing of female consumers describe the
other story. With the help of correlation, it can be concluded that the relationship between
the attitude and purchasing of female consumers of green cosmetic products is very low and
negatively correlated. The positive attitude of female consumers towards green cosmetic
products not necessarily means a high purchasing of it. There could be many factors for this
relationship and pricing of green cosmetic products could be one of those reasons.

Purchase

Chi-Square 37.520a
Df 8
Asymp. Sig. 0.000
Table XV.
Notes: a0 cells (0.0%) have expected frequencies less than 5; The minimum expected cell frequency is 11.1 Test statistics

Purchase Attitude

Purchase
Pearson Correlation 1 0.269**
Significance (2-tailed) 0.007
N 100 100
Attitude
Pearson Correlation 0.269** 1
Significance (2-tailed) 0.007
N 100 100
Table XVI.
Note: **Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed) Correlations
 JSTPM The marketer can grab the opportunity to change the neutral attitude of female
consumers towards the positive attitude for green cosmetic products with the help of
promotional techniques such as advertisements and personal selling.
Marketers should keep the pricing factor in mind while marketing the green cosmetic
products as the attitude of female consumers’ changes at different level of income.
The attitude and purchasing of female consumers are negatively correlated. Thus,
marketers have to find out the factors which influence it and make some strategy for it.

Managerial implications
In this study, the different attitude of female consumers on the basis of age, education and
income level has been considered, which should be used by the large and small
organizations to develop different marketing strategies. The marketers should keep the
pricing factor in mind while marketing the green cosmetic products as the attitude of female
consumers’ changes at different level of income.
It also emphasizes the purchase behaviour of female consumers, which is very beneficial
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in the cosmetic organizations to reframe the product strategies. For growing cosmetic
organizations, this study can help managers to incorporate green marketing into their
cosmetic products’ promotion.
The relation between the attitude and purchasing of female consumers is described,
which can be helpful for managers for better understanding female consumers related with
the green cosmetic products. The low and negative correlation between these two variables
can change the existing strategies of managers and can direct the marketers to find out the
factors which influence this relationship and make some strategy for it.
Marketers can grab the opportunity to change the neutral attitude of female consumers
towards the positive attitude for green cosmetic products with the help of promotional
techniques such as advertisements and personal selling.
Finally, the marketers and managers can develop a positioning strategy for cosmetic
products based on the attitude and purchase behaviour of female consumers. The three
variables (age, education and income level) can give a clear idea of different of different
segments of female consumers. Thus, marketers can position and target the appropriate
female consumers.

Limitations
This study has some limitations. First, the location is very important to conduct the study as
the respondents and their responses differ with different areas. In this study, the
respondents are taken from Delhi region in India. Future research could consider a larger or
different region for different responses.
Second, the variables of age, education and income level have been considered for this
study. For the wider aspect, other demographic and cultural variables could be taken. The
demographic variables such as occupation, gender, marital status and various cultural and
sub-cultural variables based on religions can highlight the other way of green marketing
effect.
Third, in this study, only two dimensions of attitude and purchasing of female
consumers were represented. In further research, other dimensions such as consumers’
intentions and perception, availability and price of green cosmetic products could be
considered.
Fourth, cosmetics are the main products which has taken into consideration. Researchers
can study the impact of green marketing on other related and unrelated products such as
food and automobiles and can make comparison for more elaboration.
 Fifth, female consumers are approached for this study, whereas male consumers could Green
also support the data with the help of which a comparative study could be possible. The marketing
sample size used also led to the limitation.
Last, a negative relationship between the attitude and purchase behaviour of female
consumers for green cosmetic products has found out. But the researchers did not mention
various factors due to which this negative relationship occurs.

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Corresponding author
Aakanksha Singhal can be contacted at: ur_aakanksha@rediffmail.com

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