Wine consumers’ environmental knowledge and attitudes: Influence on willingness to purchase

Nelson Barber¹, Christopher Taylor², Sandy Strick³

¹College of Human Sciences, Box 41240 Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA; ²School of Business, Eastern New Mexico University, Portales, NM, USA; ³School of Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Management, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA

Abstract: The last two decades have witnessed a dramatic increase in environmental consciousness worldwide. Consumers are now changing their behavior to integrate environmental considerations into lifestyle choices. This change includes consumers’ purchasing decisions based upon how well products satisfy their needs and how these products affect the natural environment. In some cases, consumers are willing to pay a premium for environmentally friendly products. Marketing professes to serve the benefit of the public by informing them of the availability of goods and services that will advance their quality of life. However, this is only true if marketing’s communication approach and methods of promotion aid in informing, educating, and channeling the needs of current and future consumers toward “green” products and services. Using wine as the product, the purpose of this study is to determine the relationship of a consumer’s involvement with a product and the environment, their knowledge of environmental issues and attitudes toward the environment, and their willingness to purchase the product. The results suggest personality segmentation, through selective marketing and redirecting of consumers needs and wants toward environmentally friendly wine products. For example, what wine consumers actually know about environmental wine issues is associated with their involvement with environmental issues more than what they self-assess they know about wine.

Keywords: environmental knowledge, green products, wine