The Purchase of Green Personal and Household Care Products: The Predictive Contribution of Perceived Environmental and Health Values and Intention Stability in the Theory of Planned Behaviour

The paper presents two empirical studies focusing on the psychosocial determinants of purchasing green personal care and household care products. These products comprise natural components, free from pesticides, fertilizers, and genetically modified organisms, and are packaged in an environmentally friendly manner to minimize their overall ecological impact. Two different samples of adult Italian consumers participated in the cross-sectional studies by completing online questionnaires, receiving a total of 766 responses (68% women, mean age of 37 years). A two-wave prospective survey design tested a relational model based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), with perceived environmental and health values serving as background factors, and the temporal stability of intentions acting as a key moderator of the relationships between intentions and purchasing behaviours. The TPB-based processes underlying purchase intentions and behaviours were found to be largely similar for both green personal care and household care products. Results suggest that consumers with favourable attitudes toward purchasing green products for personal and home care, who feel a sense of control over their purchasing behaviours and receive support from relevant others, will demonstrate both strong intentions and actual purchasing behaviours, particularly when their intentions remain stable over time. Environmental and health values are significant motivators, especially the health-related ones, and their impacts are largely mediated by TPB constructs. Significant implications for marketing green personal and household care products can be drawn from the main findings.