When Altruism is Perceived to be Rare, Would Materialists Buy Green?

The rising conflict between the growing sensitivity towards environmental concerns while living in a material world has interested consumer researchers and policy makers for some time. To date, the literature on materialism and sustainability is not encouraging regarding the possibility to reconcile sustainable and materialistic consumption. The few existing studies on this topic suggest that materialism and environmentally responsible behavior are mutually incompatible (Banerjee and McKeage 1994; Kilbourne and Pickett 2008). However, Burroughs’ (2010) notion that green products might have taken over from prestige goods (extravagant, expensive, large) as the new status products as well as research that showed that green products are status-relevant when consumed in public (Griskevicius, Tybur, and van den Bergh 2010) point to a new understanding of sustainable consumption. Besides typically considered altruistic motives, green products may in addition serve to pursue egoistic goals such as enhancing status. This lends support on the assumption that green products can serve as enviable material possessions. It is less clear, however, why this might be the case