Purchasing habits of students toward Green Marketing in Nueva Ecija, Philippines

— Green products not only help your business stand out in a saturated market, and they often help alleviate some of the burden humans take on the environment. This paper examined the green consumer values, consumer behavior towards green products, green marketing on consumer purchase intention, and factors affecting the purchase of green products. The study used quantitative descriptive method. This research surveyed 134 students from private schools and institutions in Nueva Ecija. . It was concluded the following consumers: (1) are using products that are environmental friendly, does not mean they are automatically environment responsible and are not related of environmental concerns, but should be a collaborative effort of all individuals; (3) depends on the price and their awareness on such as preference in choosing green products over conventional products to their purchase habits; (2) believe it is not only the government and business that will take charge; and (4) who have past experience on green products affect their purchase intention. The researcher recommends to educate consumers on their social responsibility in purchasing, particularly to choose green products over conventional products. Likewise, organizations and corporations to target their customers and improve their brand image can emphasize green packaging. And, government agencies should undertake environmental protection programs in order to raise green awareness.


INTRODUCTION
Green products not only help your business stand out in a saturated market, and they often help alleviate some of the burden humans take on the environment. Green marketing is concerned with conducting all marketing efforts in an environmentally responsible manner (Kinoti, 2011). Green marketing include product modification, process modifications, packaging modifications, and advertising modifications as businesses employ green marketing to meet cost or profit concerns (Singh & Pandey, 2012). With the environment and environmental challenges gaining prominence in the public's mind, businesses have begun to adapt their manufacturing, goods or service generation, and therefore their green marketing tactics (Boztepe, 2012). Consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about environmental deterioration and the detrimental impact of their product and service purchases on the environment (Bhatia & Jain, 2013). Businesses can most successfully increase consumers' purchase intention for green products by adopting a green marketing concept for the product, technology, production, and promotion (Wu & Chen, 2014). Governments should conduct campaigns to increase public knowledge of eco-labels, as this study demonstrates that consumer belief in eco-labels has a major impact on their green purchase behavior (Rahbar & Wahid, 2011). Marketers also have a responsibility to educate consumers about the importance of and benefits of green products in comparison to non-green items; however, consumers must be willing to pay extra to preserve a cleaner, greener environment (Misha & Sharma, 2010). In light of these findings, the researcher sought to determine students' purchasing habits about green marketing in Nueva Ecija, Philippines.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
This paper examined the green consumer values, consumer behavior towards green products, green marketing on consumer purchase intention, and factors affecting the purchase of green products.

II.
METHODOLOGY The study used quantitative descriptive method as it is a basic research approach which looks at the situation as it exists in its present state (Williams, 2007). This research surveyed 134 students from private schools and institutions in Nueva Ecija. The study employed survey research because it integrates research methods through source material examination and evaluation, data analysis and interpretation, and generalization and prediction (Salaria, 2012). The questionnaire was adopted from  3.37 Neutral 6. I am willing to be inconvenienced in order to take actions that are more environmentally friendly.

Somewhat Agree
Average Weighted Mean 3.57 Somewhat Agree Table 1 presents the result of the green consumer value measure. Consumerrespondents scored an average weighted mean of 3.57 that has a verbal interpretation of "Somewhat Agree". They strongly agreed on statement 1 " It is important to me that the products I use do not harm the environment" (Mean = 4.32). However, their response was neutral on statement 5 "I would describe myself as environmentally responsible." (Mean = 3.37) and Statement 3 "My purchase habits are affected by my concern for our environment" (Mean = 3.27). The results show that, though, consumers are using products that are environmental friendly, do not mean they are automatically environment responsible and are not related to their purchase habits. The analysis supports Davidson, Yantis, Norwood, and Montano's (1985) hypothesis that consumers' attitudes are influenced by their knowledge and personal experiences.  Table 2 shows the result of consumer behavior towards green products. Consumerrespondents got an average weighted mean of 3.38, which has a verbal interpretation of "Neutral". Consumerrespondents strongly agreed on Statement 2 "I spend time and effort in environmental activities such as recycling." (Mean = 4.31). This shows how they engage themselves in protecting the environment. On the other hand, they somewhat disagreed on Statement 8 "I believe that there is not much that an individual can do in solving environmental problems." (Mean = 3.68), Statement 5 "I can buy green products from time to time but I am not involved in any environmental activities" (Mean = 3.47), and Statement 9 "It should be the government and business which should promote the environment." (Mean = 3.47). These results indicate that consumerrespondents believe it is not only the government and business that will take charge of environmental concerns, but should be a collaborative effort of all individuals. Further, participating in some environmental activities should not limited to buying green products. In alignment, consumers lack green knowledge, according to Cherian and Jacob (2012), and as a result of this lack of awareness, organizations are still hesitant to invest in the development of green products, fearing that their investment would not provide enough returns.  Table 3 shows the results on how green marketing impacts consumer purchasing. Consumerrespondents scored an average weighted mean of 3.46 that has a verbal interpretation of " Somewhat Agree". Particularly, Statement 3 "I feel that green products are priced higher as compared to conventional product." got mean of 4.18 and with verbal interpretation of "somewhat Agree". All other statements got neutral response. The result illustrates that green marketing somehow affects consumer purchasing.
Noticeably, consumer's preference in choosing green products over conventional products depends on the price and their awareness on such. Ansar (2013) showed advertisements, price, and green packaging all had a direct and favorable impact on the decision to buy green. According to the findings of this study, advertisements increased green buying intent.   (2016), which found that green packaging and branding, the importance of green products, and premium green pricing had a direct impact on customer behavior, leading to green purchases. The study also demonstrated why there is a link between eco-labelling, green branding, green pricing, and consumer environmental behavior.

IV. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The present study examined the green consumer values, consumer behavior towards green products, green marketing on consumer purchase intention, and factors affecting the purchase of green products. It was concluded the following consumers: (1) are using products that are environmental friendly, does not mean they are automatically environment responsible and are not related of environmental concerns, but should be a collaborative effort of all individuals; (3) depends on the price and their awareness on such as preference in choosing green products over conventional products to their purchase habits; (2) believe it is not only the government and business that will take charge; and (4) who have past experience on green products affect their purchase intention.
The researcher recommends to educate consumers on their social responsibility in purchasing, particularly to choose green products over conventional products. Likewise, organizations and corporations to target their customers and improve their brand image can emphasize green packaging. And, government agencies should undertake environmental protection programs in order to raise green awareness.