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Without a question, green marketing is a major trend in competitive business. The practice of green marketing is largely growing as a result of the increased value consumers place on sustainability. Regardless of size, companies recognize the benefits of going green. In 2009, a study conducted by the American Marketing Association revealed that over half of corporate marketers thought their companies would increase sustainability efforts throughout 2010 and 2011 (AVS Group). In addition, 43 percent stated that their companies would increase the marketing of these efforts (AVS Group). Although various definitions of green marketing exist, we adhere to the definition provided by [3] Grewal and Levy (2008), such that green marketing is defined as a strategic effort made by firms to provide customers with environment-friendly (i.e. eco-friendly or green) merchandise.
Although the practice of and research on green marketing is growing, little academic research has devoted attention to understanding the Millennial Generation's (also referred to as Generation Y's or Echo Boomers) ([7] McKay, 2010) consumption of green products ([10] Smith and Brower, 2012). While researchers have yet to establish specific cutoff dates, there is a general consensus that the Millennial Generation is comprised of individuals born throughout the 1980s and early 2000s. Millennials make up a sizable market opportunity. In fact, Information Research, Inc. (IRI) estimates that Millennials represent a growing $54.3 billion opportunity ([7] McKay, 2010). According to California Green Solutions (2007) as cited in [20] Smith (2010), Millennials care about the environment; and as a result, most Millennials possess positive attitudes toward green products and are willing to pay more for green services, products, or brands. Nonetheless, it is a challenge for retailers to successfully communicate "green" messages. As a result of the importance Millennials place on the environment, green (i.e. eco-friendly) product characteristics are considerable factors on which to build customer loyalty ([10] Smith and Brower, 2012). The current research contributes to the literature by gaining a more in-depth understanding of the Millennial Generation's consumption of green products. Specifically, our research sought to address the following two research questions in regards to this Generation's consumption behavior:
RQ1. What product attributes have significant effects on purchases of green products?
RQ2. What are the primary reasons for not adopting green products?
Providing insight to...