Green consumption of cosmetics in Hong Kong

Abstract

Cosmetic products are an integral part of our daily lives. Men and women use various cosmetic products every day. However, the ingredients of the cosmetics may actually have an adverse impact on our environment and our own health. In my literature review, a number of journal articles have proposed that, environmental consciousness and other demographic factors have effects on consumers’ green purchasing intentions. However, currently in HK there is no such research done yet on this relationship. This study focuses on HK consumers’ consciousness on the post-consumption impact of cosmetic ingredients on the environment, mainly the relationship between consciousness of the impact of cosmetic ingredients on the environment, and green purchasing intention (GPI), specifically willingness to pay (WTP). In addition, the regulations applicable to the cosmetic industry will be also examined. This research was conducted in both quantitative and qualitative methods. The results of the quantitative survey indicated that there is a statistically weak significance for positive relationship between environmental consciousness and GPI. In addition, statistically there is a moderately strong significance for positive relationship between GPI and WTP. It implicates that higher environmental consciousness may increase consumers’ GPI. Most of the respondents are willing to pay a 6-10% premium for the greener cosmetic products. Only around 6% of respondents do not prefer to pay a premium for greener products. This shows that green cosmetic products have a viable market in HK, as long as they are not overly expensive and can be found conveniently. Based on the research results, HK consumers’ environmental consciousness on cosmetics is not high enough. It needs to be enhanced through various education programs and campaigns. Cosmetic manufacturers, distributors, importers and retailers have responsibility to guarantee the safety of the cosmetic products sold in the market. Countries, such as EU, US, China and Japan, require all cosmetic products to be labelled with an ingredients list. However, HK does not have any specific regulations put in place to monitor the cosmetic industry, not even ingredients labelling. In the interviews of cosmetic retailers using on a qualitative approach, the business owners agreed that the HK government should tighten the regulation to benefit all stakeholders, and the HK government should implement comprehensive regulations to protect all stakeholders.