Sustainable Consumption: Green Purchasing Behaviours of Urban Residents in China

Green purchasing (GP) is an important part of sustainable consumption, which reduces
the impact of society on the environment. As few studies of people’s GP behaviours exist
for China, this paper tries to close the gap by exploring GP behaviours of urban residents
in Suzhou city, Jiangsu Province. A total of 336 valid samples in a questionnaire survey are
used for the analysis. Nearly half of the respondents have seldom bought green products,
confi rming a low level of residential GP practices. The path analysis clarifi es the cause and
effect linkages between the predicting variables and GP behaviours. Environmental attitudes, especially perception of self-responsibility, greatly infl uence intention of GP behaviours. The available information of green products signifi cantly determines people’s actual GP behaviours. This study addresses the importance of environmental education in enhancing the public’s environmental responsibility in China. More information on green products should be distributed to assist in GP practices of consumers.