The present paper attempts to shed some light on consumers' consciousness on environmental aesthetics in using nutricosmetics products. More particularly, this paper seeks to answer the following questions: (1) How does green marketing contribute to consumer consciousness towards environmental aesthetics? (2) How do nutricosmetic products present its aesthetic values towards its consumers? (3) How do consumers perceive environmental aesthetics in purchasing nutricosmetic products? (4) How are environmental aesthetics interconnected with the environment? In answering these research questions, relevant literature is reviewed, analysed, compared and synthesized as a way to gather the required information. The present paper contributes to the understanding of environmental aesthetics in the context of nutricosmetics industry.
TopIntroduction
There is a recent trend in cosmetics industry which is cosmetic hybrids or nutricosmetics. Cosmetic hybrids are results of innovative scientific research and development on beauty products (Van den Bulte and Joshi, 2007) which breeds a range of health and beauty products particularly Nutricosmetics (Ancarani and Gisco, 2014). Green formulations and environmental-friendly features are the focus of the current nutricosmetics industry. Even though the shift to ‘green’ is likely to incur extra costs to both consumers and businesses, yet it is worthwhile in the long run. In this aspect, the notion of environmental aesthetics plays a vital role in shaping consumers’ preference towards purchasing nutricosmetics products. The core idea of environmental aesthetics is to create values between people and the environment. It also contributes in preserving the planet if green consumption is adopted in practice. Environmental aesthetics helps to support connectivity among people with their healthy environment and widens choices to practice green lifestyle.
Kim and Damhorst (1998) stated that consumers’ desire to choose eco-friendly products for healthier living has given birth to the opportunities for businesses to gain profits using green/eco-friendly platforms. As such, the eco-friendly products are regarded as a novel selling point for businesses to embark on a completely new line of products and services (Lau, Chiu and Yau, 2014). Within this trend, effective green marketing emerges and forms a foundation in understanding the role of ‘environmental aesthetics’. Environmental aesthetics refer to the interaction between an individual and the environment, related to beauty (Mandoki, 2016). Human environment interaction includes physical environment and its associated objects, as well as the psychological and physiological processes that are involved in human perception and cognition.
Due to the increasing awareness among consumers about environment and quality life, significant studies have focused on topics pertaining to green marketing. However, little has been known about consumers’ awareness about environmental aesthetics, particularly in the context of nutricosmetics product usage. Considering this, the present paper aims to fill this gap in the existing literature. More clearly, this study seeks to answer the following research questions:
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How does green marketing contribute to consumer consciousness towards environmental aesthetics?
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How nutricosmetic products offer aesthetic values to the consumers?
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How consumers perceive environmental aesthetics in purchasing nutricosmetic products?
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How environmental aesthetics is interconnected with the environment?
The rest of the paper is organized into the following structure. First, how the information was gathered is briefly mentioned. Second, how green marketing contributes to consumer consciousness towards environmental aesthetics is discussed. Third, the paper discusses the aesthetic values that nutricosmetic products use to attract its customers. Lastly, consumers’ perception towards environmental aesthetics in purchasing nutricosmetic products is highlighted followed by an overall concluding remark.
TopThis study utilized content analysis approach to review relevant literature in the field. Literatures of environmental aesthetics were reviewed, compared and synthesized using key words ‘environmental aesthetics’, ‘green cosmetics’, ‘nutricosmetics’, ‘environmental consciousness’, and ‘consumer behaviors’ to further understand the terms. Several databases were utilized to search and download relevant journal articles such as Elsevier, Science Direct, Emerald and Taylor & Francis. Furthermore, Google scholar was used to search conference papers. To gain a different angle to the subject, industrial reports for example Euromonitor, websites of selected government and non-government institutions, and the World Health Organization (WHO) were also reviewed. The collected information was carefully scrutinized for its credibility and novelty. The articles were reviewed in order to answer the research questions that are mentioned in the introduction section.