مقاله سال ۲۰۱۶

Rapid economic development has resulted in overconsumption of natural resources and disruption in the balance of the ecological environment. Global warming, ozone depletion, water and air pollution, and species extinction have become key environmental issues [1]. The borderless competition under the WTO system has resulted in prosperous global economic development. Unfortunately, this ever increasing demand for the economic development brought the unbearable side effect of climatic anomalies, as can be seen by the endless stream of natural disasters, including mudslides, hurricanes, floods, and droughts, around the world in recent years and the loss and damage these climate changes bring. Kates [2] pointed out that overpopulation and excessive consumption are the main causes of today’s ecological and environmental crises. These problems are especially severe in Northeast Asian countries such as China, Korea, and Taiwan due to their high population densities. The dense population living in each developed and developing countries has put a lot of pressure on the environment, with the density of sources of pollution continuing to increase and environmental burdens becoming increasingly heavy. These environmental pressures have forced to reconsider and reflect upon the relationship between human beings and nature because the extraction of natural resources is a disposable factor in the development of human civilization [3,4]. Thus, the idea of environmental protection has begun to gradually emerge in people’s minds.

Green consumption is one way to increase environmental sustainability. When green consumers are aware of the deteriorating environment and develop a more responsible attitude toward environmental protection, their consideration will include in their purchase decisions, leading them to buy products which have minimal impact on the environment [5]. Green products are defined as products produced using techniques and chemicals used for various environmental services such as sewage treatment, solid-waste management, air-pollution control and other service which are all aimed for environmental protection [6]. According to Nimse et al. [7], green products can be defined as products that are composed of recyclable materials and are manufactured using water- and energy-saving methods to reduce waste, package and times of toxic materials disposal. Seyfang [6] also indicated products produced and service offered by green products and service industries can be used to measure, prevent, limit, reduce or repair environmental damages to water, air and soil and deal with problems regarding waste, noise and ecosystem which includes technology, products and service in connection with zero-discharge to reduce environmental risk and pollution and to see a decline in the use of resources.

Problems of mass-production, mass-consumption, and massdisposal resulting from rapid economic growth have raised various ethical issues. Although most people purchase products every day, few people consider the ethical problems of consumption. The literature indicated that the percentage of environmentally friendly products in the aggregate demand is low [8]. A study by Lai [9] indicated that, if people can think globally and act locally to affect the environment and launch environmental campaigns, the outcomes of such environmental campaigns would be remarkable. The question is how consumers can reduce local environmental burdens. The most direct and efficient way to reduce overconsumption of resources is by changing consumption patterns. Studies such as Málovics et al. [10] also pointed out that reducing consumption levels is beneficial in decreasing global overconsumption of natural resources.