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Environmental issues came to the fore during the 1980s. No longer the preserve of the crank or the activist, environmentalism "has become a competitive issue in the marketplace"
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. MacKenzie
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illustrated the "sudden increase in concern" for environmental issues between 1986 and 1989, where 30 per cent of respondents to a National Opinion Polls survey for the Department of the Environment in 1989 spontaneously mentioned environmental or pollution issues among the most important issues the Government should be dealing with, compared with 8 per cent in 1986. Consumers claiming to be environmentally conscious place additional requirements on manufacturers, distributors and marketing strategists. Food has cultural and social overtones
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and food choice has become more broadly influenced by symbolic values
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; hence one of the manifestations of the increased interest in environmental issues is the purchase of organically produced food.
While much attention has been paid to an alleged preference for environmentally friendly products, as Sriram and Forman
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have noted "there is little knowledge regarding the nature and degree of sacrifice they
consumers
are willing to make in acting on this issue". This article will provide a profile of the purchasers of organic food and indicate what are the main determinants of purchasing patterns.
THE GREEN CONSUMER
Based on surveys carried out in England, Scotland and Wales, Mintel
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classified consumers by their willingness to buy environmentally friendly products (EFPs) into dark, light and armchair greens. The dark greens--people who claim to seek out green goods actively--comprise 39 per cent of the sample. They are more likely to be female, with children, influenced more by quality than price and use the green grapevine or
personal recommendations when making purchasing decisions. Some 20 per cent are pale greens, buying such goods only when they see them. Divided evenly between the sexes, they tend to be in the age groups 25-34 and 55-64. They are more price led in their buying habits than their darker green counterparts.
Nearly one quarter of respondents are armchair greens, who care about the environment but have not changed their purchasing habits accordingly. Here men are in the majority, and consumers are definitely price led. Only one in ten is not concerned at all about the environment, with...