“Organic food is fertilised at night”: Why people (do not) buy environmentally friendly products

Abstract

Envigogika 9 (1)-Reviewed Papers/ Recenzované články Abstract The goal of this paper is to analyze barriers that discourage consumers from buying environmentally friendly products, and consequently suggest principles for effective consumer-oriented programmes of environmental education. It is based on a qualitative analysis of six focus groups (N=39) that were carried out with respondents from different consumer groups (mothers on maternity leave, pensioners, administrators, businessmen, university students, and environmental consultants). The research suggested that a lack of trust in the concept of sustainable consumption and consumers' personal history play important roles in consumer decision-making. In the final part, the article discusses the implications of these findings for environmental education.