Cluster Analysis Approach to Understanding the Philippine Sustainable Consumer: An Initial Empirical Study

The pressing climate change issue is difficult to ignore today as more and more of its effects are felt and experienced by many people and countries across the globe. Although cross-cutting policies have been enacted by various governments, the complexity of the consumer as thinking, feeling and socially interactive individuals call for more targeted interventions to become an effective reinforcement to consumption-related legislations and programs as embedded in the Four E’s framework developed by the UK Sustainable Development Research Network. Recognizing the unfeasibility of personalized campaigns towards sustainable consumption, this paper aims to provide an initial empirical analysis of the Philippine consumer market having the propensity to buy environment-friendly products by exploring its various segments. Cluster analyses reveal that there are five groups of consumers inclined to buy environment-friendly products in the Philippines, each bound together by their normative susceptibility, belief that environment-friendly products are difficult to identify and find in the market, frequency of buying and amount spent for these products, age, education, civil status and income. These identified segments serve as a guide in crafting programs and campaigns promoting and supporting sustainable consumption behavior that are more tailored to each of their attributes. The paper concludes with a discussion on the practical implications for implementation of interventions and directions for future research.