From Green Concern to Green Purchase: An Evidence-to-Practice Note for Philippine Firms

From Green Concern to Green Purchase: An
Evidence-to-Practice Note for Philippine Firms

Written by:
Norazah Mohd Suki, Norbayah Mohd Suki, Miguel Paolo L. Paredes, Rayan P. Dui
Department of Marketing and Advertising, College of Business, DLSU-Manila,
Othman Yeop Abdullah Graduate, School of Business (OYAGSB), Universiti Utara Malaysia, Malaysia
Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Atatürk University, Turkey
Universiti Utara Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Campus, Malaysia

Introduction

Philippine marketers face a practical challenge: many consumers may approve of sustainability in principle yet hesitate at the point of purchase when green claims are unclear, social validation is weak, or product performance is uncertain. This business policy note translates peer reviewed evidence on green-product purchasing into practical guidance that Philippine brands, retailers, ecommerce sellers, and sustainability communicators can test locally.

The note is based on Mohd Suki’s (2016) Journal of Cleaner Production article on consumption values and green-product purchase. Because the underlying study was conducted in Malaysia, with 200 self-identified green-lifestyle consumers in Labuan, the Philippine recommendations are presented as testable applications, not as direct estimates of Philippine consumer behavior.

The recommended actions are mainly undertaken by firms. The note therefore offers managerial applications rather than public-policy prescriptions, and identifies were public policy on environmental claims becomes relevant.

The central lesson is a measured one: the source study identifies social value, epistemic value, and perceived product quality as complementary factors associated with green purchasing in the Malaysian sample. These findings provide hypotheses for Philippine testing rather than a proven order of intervention. Price, emotional, and conditional values were not statistically significant in the source model, but this should not be read as evidence that they do not matter in the Philippine market.

The challenge for Philippine firms is not only to communicate green value but also to ensure that sustainability claims are supported by internal practice. Green marketing becomes more credible when consumer facing messages, product sourcing, packaging decisions, staff explanations, claim substantiation, and customer service responses are aligned with sustainability-oriented organizational values and routines.

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