Environmental Attitudes and Behavior of Consumers in China: Survey Findings and Implications

Abstract

The present study surveys the environmental attitudes and behavior of 549 subjects from Beijing and Guangzhou in China using the refined Maloney and Ward ecological scale. Overall, the survey findings suggest that Chinese people's ecological concerns are still rather low even though they have expressed exceptionally strong emotional attachment to ecological issues, a phenomenon probably attributed to traditional cultural values. To advance the green movement of China, green marketers and the government need to seriously consider ways to raise Chinese people's existing ecological concerns and channel them into related actual commitments. Specifically, green marketers should not exaggerate their environmental claims and should continually improve the quality of their green products. In addition to strengthening its environmental education and increasing its investments in public environmental facilities, the Chinese government should work in conjunction with various stakeholders, to establish a comprehensive eco-certification scheme and clear environmental advertising guidelines in order to augment citizens' confidence in the advertised claims of green products.