ECO-FRIENDLY PRODUCTS’ INFLUENCE: A STUDY ON GREEN ADVERTISEMENT AND

ITS IMPACT ON THE BUYING BEHAVIOR OF SHS STUDENTS OF UTMC

Zyra Elizabeth Donguya1, Suanie Jane Engco2, Reniel Bryan Roperos3, Althea Nicole Tamondong4
1-2
Department of Accounting Education, University of Mindanao Tagum College
Email: 1donguyelizabeth@gmail.com, 2suaniejaneengco@gmail.com, 3renielbryanroperos@gmail.com,
4
itstheamarie05@gmail.com

Abstract: The increasing competition in the business world has caused businesses to search for the best
marketing strategies. Consumers nowadays have become more aware of the environment’s
deterioration, hence, the rising demand for environmentally safe products has triggered companies to
utilize the promotion of green products. This study was initiated to determine whether Green
advertisement has an impact in molding the buying behavior of senior high school students. A
quantitative, non-experimental research design was employed. Through this, quantifiable data was
collected using a Likert-scale questionnaire that was distributed to 159 senior high school students from
UM Tagum College. The findings indicate a substantial link between green advertising and the
shopping preferences of the students. From the results, recommendations were made. (1) Industrial
enterprises should make an effort to use eco-friendly products. (2) Reliable green information, proper
labeling, and highlighting the environmental benefits must be utilized to stimulate purchases (3)
Students should evaluate the product rather than being influenced by hype to ensure clarity of
intention. (4) Future researchers can use this to further explore the effects of green advertisements on
purchasing behavior.

Keywords: Buying Behavior, Eco-friendly, Environmental Awareness, Green Advertisement,

Sustainable

1. INTRODUCTION

Individual purchasing behaviors are shaped by societal norms, personal factors, and marketing
strategies, impacting product manufacturers' competitive edge. Thus, an increase in public awareness
of environmental issues like climate change, global warming, and pollution, has led consumers to be
more mindful of their product choices. Understanding the buying decisions of the market is pivotal for
manufacturers to create preferred products for the market. Consequently, businesses have capitalized
on this trend by promoting their offerings as environmentally friendly [1].

Different studies have highlighted how eco-friendly products affect buying behaviors. A study in
Iran suggested that to build customer trust, organizations must focus on providing reliable green
information on their products. Another study also showed that proper labeling and sufficient
information about the benefits of the products to the environment are the main factors that attract
buyers to purchase products [2]. There are even studies that show how the public favors sustainable
products over conventional ones as they foster a sense of environmental consciousness [3].
 The researchers were unable to discover any local studies on the impact of eco-friendly products on
purchasing habits. This study will provide a specific contribution and create new information on how
green advertisements influence the purchasing behavior of the selected student participants. As this call
for the response of consumers towards the green marketing of business entities, this research will also
make a relevant contribution to the possible ways of maximizing green advertisements for businesses
to gain precedence in the market [4].

2. METHODOLOGY

This study utilized the correlational technique to the quantitative non-experimental research design
in transmitting data, information, and findings. With the help of the correlative approach, the
underlying relationship between the two different variables, the green advertisement and the buying
behavior of the students, and how they are related to each other was determined [5]. In this research
design, a correlation statistical test will be utilized to measure the degree of association between the
two variables in the study without controlling or manipulating them [6].

The margin of error that was accepted is 5% and to get that 95% accuracy, a sample size of 159 is
needed with a 20% response distribution [7]. With a total of 11 sections from grade 11 and grade 12
year levels, the researchers chose a limited random number of students per section as their respondents
to constitute the required sample size.

The selected respondents are chosen based on their buying behavior towards economically friendly
products as well as the influence that green advertisements give them when purchasing goods. Being
well-educated and informed about these green products could be very beneficial not just to the
respondents but as well as the welfare of their surroundings, especially nature [8].

3. RESULTS AND FINDINGS

Influence of Green Advertisement among Senior High School Students

Shown in Table 1 are the mean scores for the indicators of Green Advertisement among Senior
High School Students with an overall 3.87 described as high with a standard deviation of 0.478. This
means that the respondents’ responses to Green Advertisement among Senior High School Students in
UMTC are positive in the majority context in the components of strategy, internal marketing, product
and marketing communication

The overall computed mean scores, listed in descending order of highest to lowest, produced the
quoted total mean score: 3.93 or high for Internal Marketing with a standard deviation of 0.61; 3.88 or
high for product with a standard deviation of 0.53; 3.87 or high for strategy with a standard deviation
of 0.53; 3.79 or high for Marketing Community with a standard deviation of 0.60.

The
main
green
advertisement that was positive among senior high school students was for Internal marketing, being
the indicator with the highest mean whose primary objective is to internal market using the green
advertisement. As a result, green advertising through internal marketing can help improve students'
awareness and understanding of environmental sustainability, as well as their attitudes and behaviors
towards eco-friendly practices [9].

The next indicator is Product which received the second highest mean score which can be seen in
the green advertisement among senior high school students. The respondents offered a favorable
response to the idea that green advertisements can have a positive effect on senior high school students
since the products can be more affordable, assist in resolving environmental issues and preserving a
healthy environment, and promote better quality that can encourage senior high school students to care
more about the environment [10].

This is followed by Strategy, which can be viewed under the influence of green advertising as an
indicator of how it obtained the third-lowest mean score. Green marketing can raise awareness among
senior high school students about the importance of sustainability and the environmental impact of
their purchasing decisions. However, green-perceived availability can have the slightest impact on
students’ intentions to purchase green products [11].

Lastly, the final Green Advertisement that is apparent among the senior high-school students is
marketing communication, being the lowest indicator with the least mean. The marketing
communication purpose is to know if the senior high-school students are convinced to purchase a
product through environmentally friendly advertising, as the marketing communication strategy is the
main strategy used to persuade a possible consumer to buy an eco-friendly product that is conducive to
nature. As regards, senior high-school students marketing communication does not have the biggest
impact on them. Students are likely to purchase a product through a unique and creative approach
selling technique [12].

Buying Behavior of Senior High School Students

Shown in Table 2 are the mean scores for the indicators of Buying Behavior of Senior High
School Students in UMTC with an overall mean of 3.83 described as high with a standard deviation of
0.49. This means that the respondents’ responses to the buying behavior of senior high school students
in UMTC were positive in the majority of the cases in the items of attitude, subjective norm, control on
availability, consumer effectiveness, and purchase intention.

The cited overall mean score was the result gathered from the following computed mean scores
from highest to lowest: 4.01 or high for consumer effectiveness with a standard deviation of 0.64; 4.00
or high for control on availability with a standard deviation of 0.62; 3.84 or high for attitude with a
standard deviation of 0.60; 3.73 of high for purchase intention with a standard deviation of 0.67: and
3.57 or high for subjective norm with a standard deviation of 0.63.
 The main buying behavior with the highest mean that was positive was consumer effectiveness.
Students who are very concerned with environmental issues are more likely to purchase goods that
support sustainability. It is important for them that the products they use do not harm the environment.
Therefore, the more concerned a student is about protecting the environment and minimizing the
pollution in their surroundings, the more convinced they are to purchase and support green products
[13].

Another positive buying behavior is control on availability, which aims to ascertain if the consumer
buys or opts for environmentally friendly products whenever they are available. This indicator tied the
buying behavior of consumers to the product's availability in the market. According to the survey
results, whenever possible, students would buy products that are packaged in reusable containers. This
signifies that the accessibility of green products influences students' willingness to purchase them [14].

This was followed by an attitude that was also positive. This result indicates that senior high school
students feel that the green products' environmental performance is generally dependable. Consumers'
attitudes are influenced by many factors, such as their beliefs and feelings. Ensuring that a certain
green product is helpful to the environment and that its solutions to environmental issues satisfy
customer expectations results in a green purchase by the customer [15].

Purchase intention is also positive and deals with the ideas that steer a customer's decisions or
behaviors toward a certain purchase event and their willingness to pay. Consumer intent to purchase is
significantly and favorably impacted by advertisement information. Green advertising has a substantial
impact on customer intent to buy environmentally friendly goods and services, which not only changes
consumer attitudes toward the environment but also strengthens the veracity of the claims presented in
these advertisements. Moreover, students are glad to purchase green products because they are
environmentally friendly [16].

Finally, the subjective norm's purpose is to persuade you of the opinions of others, whether the
majority approves or disapproves. Students believe that if they use more eco-friendly products in the
future, most people in their social network will approve. Customers frequently weigh the opinions and
judgments of those around them, including family, friends, and others. This implies that subjective
norms continue to play a significant role in the decision-making process when it comes to purchasing a
certain product [17].

Correlation Matrix Between Green Advertisement and Buying Behavior

The data reveals that Marketing Communication of Green Advertisements and Attitude as their
Buying Behavior has the highest positive correlation coefficient of 0.60 among the others with large
association. It was followed by the Strategy of Green Advertisement and Attitude as Buying Behavior
and Internal Marketing of Green Advertisements with both 0.58 correlation coefficients and large
association, the product of Green Advertisements and Attitude on Buying Behavior has large
association with a correlation coefficient of 0.55, Internal Marketing and Consumer Effectiveness has
large association with 0.50 correlation coefficient, Internal Marketing and Subjective Norm as Buying
Behavior has medium association with 0.49 correlation coefficients, Product and Subjective Norm has
medium association with a correlation coefficient of 0.48, Product and Consumer Effectiveness has
medium association with 0.47 correlation coefficient, Marketing Communication and Subjective Norm
has medium association with 0.45 correlation coefficient, both Marketing Communication and
Consumer Effectiveness and Product and Purchase Intention have medium association with correlation
coefficients of 0.43, Product and Control on Availability has medium association with 0.41 positive
correlation coefficient, Internal Marketing and Purchase Intention has medium association with a
correlation coefficient of 0.40, Internal Marketing and Control on Availability has medium association
with a positive correlation coefficient of 0.37, Strategy and Control on Availability has medium
association with a positive correlation coefficient of 0.36, Strategy and Purchase Intention has medium
association with a positive correlation coefficient of 0.35, Marketing Communication and Control on
Availability has medium association with 0.34 positive correlation coefficient, Strategy and Subjective
Norm and Marketing Communication and Purchase Intention have medium association with both 0.33
as positive correlation coefficients, and lastly Strategy of Green Advertisements and Consumer
Effectiveness as Buying Behavior has medium association with a positive correlation coefficient of
0.30.
Significance of the Relationship between Green Advertisement and the Buying Behavior of
Senior High School Students
One significant purpose of the study is to determine whether or not green advertisement has a
significant relationship with buying behavior. Pearson r was used to calculate the correlations between
two variables, and the results are shown in Table 3. This includes determining the level of each
variable using its means and standard deviation, as well as deciding whether or not to accept the null
hypothesis.
The data reveals that the average number of green advertisements is 3.868553459 and a standard
deviation of 0.49 with a descriptive grade of high, compared to Senior High School Students'
purchasing behavior, which has a mean of 3.826918239 and a standard deviation of 0.49.
Additionally, the data show a strong correlation between social media use and time
management, with a significant positive correlation value of 0.66. The null hypothesis, according to the
results, claimed that there is a significant association between social media usage and time
management. This is supported by the p-value of 0.00, which is less than the level of significance of
0.05. The null hypothesis is so accepted.
This also implies that there is a bond between two correlated variables. According to the
findings of the research on green advertisement and buying behavior, it has been evident that green
advertisement does have an effect on Senior High School Students. Therefore, the result of the
correlation exemplifies that when the influence of green advertisement to the students is observed to be
high then the buying behavior of the students is also observed to be high.
 4. RECOMMENDATION

The academic performance of working students in UMTC garnered an overall descriptive level of
average. To address the results of the study the following recommendations were suggested:

1. Industrial enterprises should make an effort to use eco-friendly products. This would also have a
significant influence on waste management and reduce pollution in society.

2. Companies must provide reliable green information, proper labeling, and highlight the
environmental benefits of the products to attract more buyers.

3. Students should use caution when purchasing a product even if it is endorsed as eco-friendly. This
is to avoid situations where students dislike a product or just appreciate it because of the hype and
be smarter with buying decisions.

4. This study urges future researchers to expand on and explore the effects of green advertisements on
purchasing behavior.
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