Mind the green: What drives the sustainable consumption behavior of Filipino consumers?

The individual consumer, while at the receiving end of the production chain, plays a crucial role in providing solutions to current environmental problems. Current lifestyle that favors a throwaway culture not only contribute to the growing problem of waste products, but also allow for the propagation of unsustainable practices within different industries. Consumers need to challenge one’s preference for unsustainable practices in order to shift to sustainable ways of living. This paper investigated the factors that drive the sustainable consumption behavior of Filipino consumers covering conservation, purchase, recycling, information seeking, and environmental activism, using an integrated conceptual model based on the theoretical lenses of Norm Activation Model and Theory of Planned Behavior. Guided by critical realism paradigm, a mixed method approach was utilized to identify empirical evidences, as well as to uncover structures and underlying mechanisms involved in the phenomenon. Quantitative data collection was conducted through an online survey with 217 samples, while qualitative data collection was done through in-depth interviews of nine respondents. Quantitative data analysis showed that awareness of consequences, ascription of responsibility, perceived behavioral control, perceived marketplace influence, subjective norms, internal ethics, moral intensity, and sustainable behavior intention are significant predictors of sustainable consumption behavior. Qualitative data analysis supported the conceptual model proposed in this study. Further analysis through retroduction revealed intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (social and compliance) as generative mechanisms for a consumer to engage in sustainable consumption behavior