Factors Affecting the Awareness and Attitudes of Consumers on Organic Products

Necitas  Cabrera,

Factors Affecting the Awareness and Attitudes of Consumers on Organic Products

Abstract:

To spur the growth of the organic industry there is a need to raise awareness and understanding about organic agriculture/farming and organic products especially among consumers. The study aimed to identify factors that affect consumer knowledge and attitudes toward organic products. Specifically, it sought to know the basic characteristics of organic consumers, their awareness of the socio-economic and health aspects of organic products, their attitudes toward organic products in terms of purchasing habits, willingness to patronize other organic products and support system needed and the correlation between the basic characteristics of consumers and their awareness and attitudes toward organic products. Awareness and attitudes were measured using weighted means. The Pearson r correlation analysis was used to determine factors that affect consumers’ awareness and attitudes. Results show that length of time, the kind of product being consumed and the volume of consumption are factors that significantly relate with the awareness of consumers on the health benefits of organic consumption. Purchasing habits of consumers are influenced by how long they have been organic consumers, what kind of organic product they regularly consume and how much they consume on a regular basis. Consumers’ willingness to try other organic products depends on the kind and the volume of organic product being consumed. Younger consumers need less reason to increase consumption than older ones.

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