Fall 2012 195

Predicting Purchases of Eco-Beauty

Products: A Qualitative Meta-Analysis

Melodie Ray Davis-Bundrage
mrdb@uga.edu

Soyoung Kim
skim@fcs.uga.edu


Abstract
The natural and organic personal care product industry represents a growing
opportunity to expand a niche market to mainstream. This study addressed the
limited linkage of natural and organic cosmetics to dress of the body and use of
cosmetics from a social viewpoint and not merely from an environmental and
health benefit standpoint. Researching all vantage points is necessary in order
to complete the customer profiling for natural cosmetics and for businesses to
understand how to educate and expand the existing client base. This paper
synthesizes via a qualitative meta-analysis methodology existing research on
consumer behavior towards natural and organic cosmetic products and adds a
new perspective on marketing natural cosmetic brands by suggesting that the
study of these products be performed in an inclusive manner of cosmetic usage
from social and attribute-based desires in addition to product health and
environmental benefits. Further research and recommendations to retailers on
how marketing messages can be strategically changed to stress user benefits
from a social, fashion and lifestyle perspective are suggested and provided.

Keywords: eco-beauty, organic personal care products, green marketing, meta-
analysis

Relevance to Marketing Practitioners: The study is relevant to marketers in
order to understand consumer behavior concerning eco-beauty products.
Marketing natural cosmetics represents both opportunities and challenges for
businesses interested in expanding to the mainstream market by strategically
adjusting marketing messages to achieve mainstream acceptance of eco-beauty
products.



196 Proceedings of the Atlantic Marketing Association

Introduction
Natural and organic cosmetics and personal care products are categorically
placed within ecological products (Rajagopal, 2007) and therefore are included as
products studied for the purpose of understanding sustainable consumption.
Marketing ecological products or products that are environmentally sound is
commonly known as green marketing (Chen & Chai, 2010). Uniquely different
from household products or food products, natural and organic cosmetics are not
only ecological products but also fashion products used methodologically by the
consumer to participate in altering image, image maintenance, promotion of self
esteem, and trendsetting.
Since cosmetics are included in the definition of dress and have been viewed
as an acceptable part of fashion since the 1920s (Tortora & Eubank, 2010),
natural and organic cosmetics, otherwise known as eco-beauty products, can be
regarded as equivalent to eco-fashion when used to solve a need for fashion and
to satisfy consumer aesthetic desires. Niinimaki (2010) stated that in order for
eco-clothes to expand beyond a niche market they must reflect the broad scope of
consumers lifestyles, suggesting combining environmental aspects with good
design and fashion to produce a desirable product. Good design in cosmetics can
include attributes such as: formulation, color, coverage, effectiveness, texture,
applicability and even fashionable product packaging. Marketing natural
cosmetics, a unique attribute and benefit based product, represents both great
opportunities and challenges for businesses entering this niche market and
interested in expanding to the mainstream market.
As people have become more concerned with the environment, health, and
product ingredients, interest in natural and organic cosmetics has grown.
Studies have documented that as consumers are educated and they become
aware of the harmful effects of synthetic cosmetics on prolonged usage the
demand for natural or organic products increases (Rajagopal, 2007). However,
whereas general green products, organic foods and eco-apparel have been widely
discussed in the literature, studies on natural and organic personal care
products are few in number and inconclusive as to factors that influence
purchase intention and willingness to pay higher prices. Kim and Chung (2011)
observed that most existing research dealt with marketing strategies rather
than consumer behavior but in order to develop effective marketing strategies an
in-depth understanding of the consumer would be needed. There has also been
very limited linkage of the study of natural and organic cosmetics to dress of the
body and little research has examined factors that influence the use of cosmetics
from a social viewpoint and not merely from an environmental and health
benefit standpoint. All vantage points are necessary to research in order to
complete the customer profiling for natural cosmetics and for businesses to
understand how to educate and expand the existing client base. Therefore, this
paper not only synthesizes existing research on consumer behavior but expands


Fall 2012 197


the proposed theoretical basis of consumer behavior study towards natural and
organic cosmetics and suggests marketing strategies for the resulting expanded
consumer base.
Studies designed to determine factors that influence attitude, purchase
behavior and willingness to pay have emerged in various areas (cosmetics,
apparel, general green buying) and have utilized various theories and models
including: theory of reasoned behavior, theory of planned behavior, fashion
adoption theory, consumer socialization theory, theory of reflective
modernization, and consumer knowledge management (e.g. Chan & Lau, 2001;
Dimitrova, Kaneva, & Gallucci, 2009; Gam, 2011; Kim & Chung, 2011;
Niinimaki, 2010; Yan & Xu, 2010). Although somewhat different in approach,
these studies have a similar basis of underlying factors that are significant in
influencing attitudes, behaviors and willingness to pay for natural and organic
products. The common significant factors are combined in this study to present
a synthesized model of significant influential factors based on the existing
research that can be used in future research studies and presented in
recommendation statements that can inform marketers and promote the
expansion of the natural and organic cosmetic niche market towards a
mainstream market. Therefore, the goal of this study is to conduct a qualitative
meta-analysis of the findings of existing studies and draw conclusions about the
factors that significantly influence eco-apparel, green buying, and natural
cosmetics. In so doing, this study adds a new perspective on marketing natural
cosmetic brands by suggesting that the study of these products be performed in
an inclusive manner of cosmetic usage from social and attribute-based desires in
addition to product health and environmental benefits.
Background
Personal care products represent the third highest sales in the U.S. non-food
organic segment following supplements and fibers for apparel, according to the
Organic Trade Association 2011 Organic Industry Survey. The Organic Monitor
in a 2011 report predicted global sales of natural and organic cosmetics to reach
$9 billion by the end of 2011 and $14 billion by 2015 (Gallon, 2011). Kline Inc.
reports U.S. sales of natural and organic cosmetic products grew to $3.8 billion
in 2010 and the natural beauty market is expected to grow to $6.6 billion by
2015 (as cited by tccscc.org, 2011). The same report also shows that the U.S.
market is expected to experience high double-digit growth from 2012 to 2015.
These statistics provide evidence that an increase in the research of consumer
behavior towards natural cosmetics is needed and will aid in effectively
marketing natural and organic personal care products.
Despite the importance of the natural and organic cosmetics market, only
six articles were found at the time of this study that examined consumer
behaviors in this market, but many studies on eco-apparel, organic food and


198 Proceedings of the Atlantic Marketing Association

green products in general have been completed. The researchers chose to
include eco-apparel and general green products in this study to include a higher
number of articles to be examined and also to compare studies of natural and
organic products with studies of other green products. More specifically, the
researchers performed a qualitative meta-analysis on these studies to present a
synthesized model of significant findings amongst all the previous studies. This
paper also explores the business implications sections of each study and
combines those recommendations with factors not considered in the research of
natural and organic cosmetics. Subsequently, this study bridges the gap
between previous studies of natural cosmetics and eco-apparel by identifying
additional factors from fashion theory, social identity and marketing that could
be beneficial in expanding the organic cosmetics market and offer opportunities
for future research.
The following few studies (Dickson, 2000; Dimitrova et al., 2009; Gam, 2011;
Kim & Chung, 2011; Kim & Seock, 2009; Niinimaki, 2010; Yan & Xu, 2010)
sought to explain factors that influence attitude, intention to buy and
willingness to pay more for green product categories inclusive of yet beyond the
scope of environmentalism and green marketing and have therefore begun the
conversation of studying green products from a social aspect and mainstream
marketing point of view. Each of the proceeding authors incorporated one of the
following variables or factors in their study: consumer knowledge, product
attributes, social factors, and consumer identity or body/fashion theory. The
following sections provide an overview of the literature on attitude, purchase
intention, and willingness to pay more for natural and organic cosmetics and
eco-apparel to relate cosmetic use as a form of dress.
Natural and Organic Cosmetics
The literature review included six studies on natural or organic cosmetics and
personal care products (Dimitrova et al., 2009; Johri & Sahasakmontri, 1998;
Kim & Chung, 2011; Kim & Seock, 2009; Makarychev, Kaufmann, Tsangari, &
Temperley, 2011; Rajagopal, 2007). The Johri (1998) article is retained in the
study because of its significance as a cosmetics paper although it was published
slightly prior to the year 2000. The goal of the studies ranged from researching
marketing strategies to consumer knowledge to consumer behavior. Amongst the
significant findings from the above studies that focused on consumer behavior
was 1) the level of knowledge of consumers influences buying behavior, and 2)
environmental consciousness, appearance consciousness, product attributes, and
level of involvement were all influencers on purchase intention or behavior. The
main attributes found to be significant to consumers while buying green
cosmetics from a focus group discussion in the study by Johri (1998) included
product color, packaging, outlet atmosphere, brand image, opportunity to pre-
test, safe for skin, product performance, ingredients, fragrance, not tested on
animals and good value for money. Several items on this list are basic attributes
relevant to synthetic cosmetics as well as natural cosmetics and provide evidence


Fall 2012 199


that many of the same attributes are desired by the consumer when shopping for
green cosmetics as when shopping for more fashionable synthetic or mainstream
cosmetics. Therefore, retailers need to incorporate mainstream marketing
strategy and messaging to communicate to consumers that green cosmetics
provide the same basic attributes as they desire from synthetics with the added
benefits of being green. Retailers and marketers should appeal to the
consumers sense of fashion, health and environmental consciousness.
Eco-Apparel
The literature review included 13 studies on eco-fashion, eleven of which were
considered recent data (dated 2000 2011) and included in the analysis
(Casadesus-Masanell, Crooke, Reinhardt, & Vasishth, 2009; Dickson, 2000;
Gam, 2011; Gam, Cao, Furr, & Kang, 2010; Ha-Brookshire & Norum, 2011;
Hustvedt & Dickson, 2007; Lin, 2010; McGoldrick & Freestone, 2008; Niinimaki,
2010; Ogle, Hyllegard, & Dunbar, 2004; Yan, Hyllegard, & Blaesi, 2011). The
goals of the studies included researching willingness to pay higher prices and
purchase intention. Common amongst all or a few of the studies were findings
that product criteria, attitude towards environmental issues, environmental
concern and environmental purchase behavior were significant. Studies have
also found that desire for fashion and interest in being well dressed, social
motivators and individual identity are influencers of purchase intention
(Dickson, 2000; Niinimaki, 2010). All of the above factors studied in eco-apparel
have been applied to eco-cosmetics (e.g. Rajagopal, 2007) with the exception of
the factors associated with fashion, social identity and demographics. More
attention should be directed to including the factors from apparel and social
identity literature in order to create a more complete model for eco-beauty
purchase intention.
Methodology
This paper employs the qualitative meta-analysis methodology to aggregate and
interpret findings from the domain of research related to purchase intentions
and willingness to pay for natural or organic cosmetics. A qualitative meta-
analysis is the process or technique of synthesizing previous research results for
the purpose of discovering the essential elements and transforming the results
into a new conceptualization (Schreiber et al., 1997). The process involves
establishing criteria for including research studies in the review of the selected
body of knowledge.
Data Collection
Computer databases (Galileo, Google Scholar, Business Source, Psych Info) were
searched to identify relevant studies. Keywords were combined into a search
strategy in different combinations to find studies that met the criteria for the


200 Proceedings of the Atlantic Marketing Association

review and included a combination of eco-beauty, eco-friendly, socially
responsible, green, natural, organic, or naturally derived and cosmetic, personal
care product, fashion, beauty product, or apparel with purchase, buy, willingness
to pay or market. After performing the computer database search, the
researchers then utilized the reference list of all relevant articles found to find
additional studies cited. This is referred to as using a snowball sampling
technique. The timeframe of all searches were from January 1995 through
February 2012. All identified papers were then evaluated against criteria
determined by the researchers which included: 1) must be performed with
quantitative data analysis, 2) must study either organic or natural cosmetics,
organic or eco-apparel or general green products but not food products, and 3)
must be published in a peer-reviewed journal so all conference proceedings,
industry research reports and periodicals were excluded. This procedure
resulted in a sample of 26 academic papers.
Description of Sample
The papers included in the sample were classified into three categories:
cosmetics/personal care products (6 papers), eco-apparel or organic clothing (13
papers), and green products (7 papers). Most papers (23 out of 26) were
published between 2000 and 2012. The papers were further categorized based
on their dependent variables, theoretical frameworks and factors studied.
Categorization by dependent variable results in two areas: 1) purchase intention
and 2) willingness to pay.
Data Analysis
Several steps were performed to synthesize the factors, findings and industry
opportunities or implications presented in the studies. First, the factors used in
the studies were extracted from the text or models in the papers. Second, the
factor descriptions were reviewed and combined based on concepts meant to
measure identical concepts. Thirdly, if a factor had sub-factors, the sub-factors
were resorted into the categories to simplify the number of and names of factors.
For instance, attitude towards the environment, attitude towards socially
responsible apparel, attitude for support of organic, attitude towards pro-
environmental regulations, attitude on advertisement, and attitude towards
brand were classified into two broader categories of attitude; attitude towards
products and attitude towards environment. Next, all factors or concepts found
to be significant in the previous studies were pulled out of the text to create an
extended model for purchase intention and willingness to pay and to make a
listing of broader categories of all factors within the model. Lastly, the data is
used to synthesize business opportunities for retailers of natural or organic
cosmetics and, by analyzing cosmetics as a component of dress, factors not
considered in existing cosmetics research are pulled from apparel research as
factors that should be addressed in future research for personal care products.


Fall 2012 201




Results and Discussions
A total of 121 factors were entered into the meta-analysis spreadsheets and
through the consolidation methods listed above, 17 major factors were identified
and used to build the consolidated model. This suggests that many of the
researchers studied the same factors or similar factors whose meanings were
equivalent to factors in other studies.
Common Factors
The common factors are factors that were reported significant by more than 15%
of the studies. The most common factor was Attitude towards the Environment
(46%). This factor influenced both dependent variables, willingness to pay and
purchase intentions. Following in descending order are the following factors:
Product Attributes & Attractiveness (35%), Consumer Values (31%), Knowledge
(27%), Subjective Norm (23%), Communication (19%), and Consumer Lifestyle &
Involvement (15%). All of these common factors were tested across all three
product categories (personal care, apparel, general green products) sampled for
this study.
The above factors are the condensed factors based on logical relationships
between studies. For instance, product attributes included such attributes as
color, performance, price, and organic ingredients for both cosmetics and apparel
products. Consumer values included such concepts as health consciousness,
environmental consciousness (Kim & Seock, 2009), appearance consciousness
(Kim & Chung, 2011), and personal ideology (Niinimaki, 2010). Consumer
lifestyle (Ogle, Hyllegard & Dunbar, 2004) was combined with fashion
involvement (Yan, Hyllegard & Blaesi, 2011) to form a single factor titled
Consumer Lifestyle & Involvement, as they both examined how strongly a person
actively engages with the product in their daily life. The level of family
influence (Yan & Xu, 2010) and socialization agents (Yan & Xu, 2010) were
combined with subjective norms (e.g. Kim & Chung, 2011; Yan et al, 2011) to
form a factor titled Subjective Norm. This effort resulted in 17 factors including:
(1) Communication; (2) Consumer Values; (3) Company Attributes; (4) Product
Attributes & Attractiveness; (5) Environmental Behavior; (6) Demographics; (7)
Consumer Lifestyle & Involvement; (8) Attitude towards Products; (9) Attitude
towards Environment; (10) Perceived Self Competence; (11) Knowledge; (12)
Subjective Norm; (13) Prior Experiences; (14) Perceived Behavior Control; (15)
Trust in Product; (16) Fashion Orientation; and (17) Shopping Orientation.
These factors were used to create the unified models of significant factors for


202 Proceedings of the Atlantic Marketing Association

predicting purchase intention and willingness to pay for natural and organic
cosmetics. The synthesized models are presented as Figure 1 and Figure 2.



























Figure 1: Extended Model for Willingness Figure 2: Extended Model for
To Pay More Purchase Intention
Model Comparison
The factors that are included in the synthesized model for purchase intention
towards natural and organic personal care products but have not been studied in
relation to natural or organic cosmetics are Communication, Consumer Lifestyle,
Fashion Orientation and Shopping Orientation. Communication goes beyond
green marketing to include mainstream media, marketing, word-of-mouth,
referrals, commercials issued by the firm and other fashion oriented advertising,
message explicitness, brand name, attitude on advertisement and brand.
Consumer lifestyle orientation is a social identity or psychographic variable and
refers to a persons identity with an organization or group and the degree of
involvement in activities of the group (Ogle et al., 2004). Fashion orientation, on
the other hand, refers to a persons interest in fashion products and shopping
orientation refers to frequency and motivation for making purchases (Gam,
2011). These social and fashion oriented factors have been studied on a limited
basis in the literature related directly to eco-fashion but not eco-beauty because
Consumer Characteristics
Consumer Values
Environmental Behaviors
Attitude towards
Environment
Demographics (e.g.,
gender, age, education,
marital status)
Company/Retailer
Characteristics
Communication
Willingness to Pay More
Product-related
Characteristics
Attitude toward Product
(e.g., fashionable, better
for health)
Product Attributes (e.g.,
color, quality, price,
effectiveness, brand name)
Willingness to Purchase
Consumer Characteristics
Consumer Values
Knowledge
Attitude toward Environment
Environmental Behaviors
Consumer lifestyle & Product
Involvement
Subjective Norm
Prior Experience
Demographics
Fashion Orientation
Perceived Behavioral Control
Perceived Self Competence
Company/Retailer
Characteristics
Communication
Company Attributes

Product-related Characteristics
Attitude toward Products &
Attractiveness
Product Attributes (e.g., color,
quality, price, effectiveness,
brand name)
Trust in Product
Shopping Orientation


Fall 2012 203


cosmetics are considered solely for their health and environmental benefits;
however, cosmetics in general are regarded as a component of dress and are
worn to express ones personal sense of style and to follow fashion trends. This
qualitative meta-analysis shows that previously tested models and frameworks
for natural and organic cosmetics can be expanded to include factors from eco-
apparel to gain industry knowledge in how to mainstream natural cosmetics.
The proposed model suggests how scholars and the organic cosmetics industry
can determine if factors typically shown to influence apparel and dress
purchases may also influence natural cosmetic purchases.
Interestingly, fashion orientation (e.g., interest and involvement in fashion),
consumer lifestyle and shopping orientation were factors that were considered
for eco-apparel but not for natural or organic cosmetics. Because consumers
have a tendency to choose how they look and desire to appear to others as being
a part of a fashion conscious group, catering to social pressures of having
popular products, purchases from brands that provide the quality of appearance
will be higher than products that merely project an image of health or
environmental benefits. Although fashion orientation was not studied in
previous research on natural and organic cosmetics, a study by Kim and Seock
(2009) found a correlation between fashionability of a natural beauty product
and a consumers willingness to pay more for the product, suggesting a possible
impact of a consumers interest in fashion on her purchases of natural and
organic beauty products. Kim and Chung (2011) found that appearance
consciousness influenced attitude toward buying organic skin and hair care
products even though health consciousness did not. In their study, purchase
intention or willingness to pay were not examined. Availability, a factor that
impacts shopping orientation, is another factor that surprisingly was not
included in the studies but could have a substantial impact on purchase
behavior of natural and organic cosmetics. Because the industry treats natural
cosmetics as a niche market, products cannot generally be found outside of
health food stores or environmental symposiums, craft fairs or other events,
making them less available than conventional cosmetics. Figure 3 shows the
proposed merging of eco-fashion and eco-beauty utilizing these factors for future
research.


204 Proceedings of the Atlantic Marketing Association


Figure 3: Merging of Eco-Fashion and Eco-Beauty Research
Business Opportunities and Further Research
The studies reviewed for this paper also cited common further research areas for
eco-apparel, natural and organic cosmetics and green products. One common
area of research includes examining the effects of demographics; the authors of
several studies cited demographic profiling of green consumers as inconclusive
suggesting that additional demographic variables be considered in future
research (e.g. Gam, 2010; Gam et al., 2011; Ha-Brookshire & Norum, 2011).
Another common theme for future research is knowledge or product benefits. In
addition to eco-literacy researchers should examine product benefits that
communicate to the consumer how the product is relevant to them. Scholars and
businesses have the power to impact beliefs and product benefits through
education and the customer knowledge process (Dimitrova et al, 2009). Once
cognitive domain knowledge has been instituted, affective domain through
marketing and advertisements can be produced by businesses to link product
benefits to lifestyle and consumer self-concept (Pickett-Baker & Ozaki, 2008).
Researchers could then study how knowledge, cognitive and affective states
affect behavioral response by using S-O-R framework, a popular consumer
behavior framework created by Mehrabian and Russell (1974) that has yet to be
used to study natural and organic personal care products. Rajagopal (2007)
states that a key challenge for organic product marketers is to increase and
strengthen emotional values to green brands by strengthening individual
perception of user benefits of the products. Each of these suggestions can be
performed by including the synthesized factors provided by this study so user
benefits are included in a more holistic manner.
Recommendations for Marketers
In addition to the above suggestions, there are perceived benefits for marketers
and retail practitioners in strategically altering marketing messages for eco-
beauty products although as suggested by Ishaswini & Datta (2011), along with
the product, the right mix of marketing, PR, sales, service, and management

Social
system
Environmental
system
Desirefor
Fashion
Branding
Availability


Fall 2012 205


expertise are needed to attract consumers who may be willing to buy.
Recommendations for marketers and practitioners include: (1) incorporate social
appeals into marketing strategy, (2) increase overall marketing and branding
including fashion specific marketing to increase sales, (3) negate consumer
disbelief in green product claims or certification or turn main marketing focus
onto other benefits as primary and environmental as secondary or added benefit,
(4) find unique positioning in the market to expand niche concepts to
mainstream through product availability, (5) pay attention to store atmospherics
to incorporate the wider cosmetics and pampering experience for natural brands,
(6) increase brand and retailer involvement in fashion so consumers already
high in involvement will be led to the brand, (7) communicate all direct benefits
to the consumer, (8) know what the consumer wants from cosmetics in general
outside of eco-benefits, (9) follow research on fashion theory to promote fashion
and self fulfillment in cosmetic product messaging, (10) fill niche market at
lower price level, and (11) assist in passing labeling policies to create added
competitive advantage.
These recommendations are strategic ways to expand natural product
offerings to the mainstream beauty consumer but should be implemented while
maintaining a focus on several main points found in previous research including:
(1) eco-benefits should just be a side benefit when marketing products, (2) eco-
friendly products must perform competitively with synthetic products, (3) the
attitude-behavior gap is widely documented in the studies so a solution to
influence consumers affectively instead of cognitively is crucial, (4) once quality
and other attributes are equivalent to synthetic brands, natural and organic
products could easily become mainstream as consumers will perceive dual
benefit instead of self-sacrifice, (5) once demand is steadily increasing respond
with appropriate reduction in costs and (6) research on the natural and organic
cosmetics and personal care products product category should expand to include
societal, fashion, culture and identity theoretical bases.
Performing this research and implementing these tactical marketing
changes will help retailers meet their goals of providing cosmetic products to the
mainstream cosmetic client by providing them with fashion attributes
(attractive, quality, color, appropriate price, branding etc), added social norms
that occur with wanting the products that are popular amongst ones peer group
in a fashion sense (makeup artistry, celebrity endorsed, event driven etc) along
with the side benefit of being eco-friendly or better for ones health. Building
fashion branded eco-beauty products would open the door for organic,
environmental, and health benefit education by the client being attracted to the
product first because of its place in dress as a fashion and self esteem building
product. Reversal education by way of customer knowledge management is then
crucial for retailers to know what attributes of the products are important to
consumers even after they have been exposed to health and environmental
education. Appealing to the consumers attitudes towards the products and need


206 Proceedings of the Atlantic Marketing Association

for convenience are crucial for marketers. These are strategic ways to capture
the consumer that is currently undecided about purchasing eco-beauty or green
products which as stated in the Laroche, Bergeron & Barbaro-Forieo (2001)
study there is a large group of undecided consumers. This strategic way of
adding competitive advantage will allow natural beauty product retailers to take
advantage of the revenue growth expected in this market from now into the
future.
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Author Information
Davis-Bundrage, Melodie R.
Mrs. Davis-Bundrage is pursuing the Ph D. in International Merchandising in
the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, at the University of Georgia, in
Athens, Georgia. Her area of academic interest is in retail management,
consumer behavior, and green marketing.
Kim, Soyoung


Fall 2012 209


Dr. Soyoung is an Associate Professor in the College of Family and Consumer
Sciences, at the University of Georgia, in Athens, Georgia. Professor Kim
earned a Doctorate from Iowa State University and teaches courses in Retail
Planning, E-tailing and Merchandising Theories and Methodologies. Her area of
interest is in consumer behavior and e-tailing. .