Consumer Acceptance of Green Personal Care Products: A Study of Sustainable Skincare Practices in Nainital District, Uttarakhand

This study provides empirical evidence of moderate to high consumer acceptance of green marketing initiatives in Nainital District's personal care product sector. The key findings are: 1.               High Environmental Awareness: 58.4% of consumers demonstrate high environmental awareness, significantly above the typical tier-2 city averages, creating a favourable foundation for green marketing initiatives. 2.               Intention-Behaviour Gap: Despite 77.6% expressing positive purchase intentions, only 16.8% were regular users, indicating substantial barriers between awareness and consistent purchasing behaviour. 3.               Demographic Variations: Female consumers, younger age groups (18-35 years), and higher education levels correlate with greater green product acceptance and usage patterns. 4.               Quality Primacy: Product quality is the dominant purchase factor, surpassing environmental benefits and price considerations, suggesting that consumers will not compromise the effectiveness of environmental credentials. 5.               Price availability Barriers: Higher prices (60.8% cited as a major barrier) and limited availability (47.2%) constitute primary obstacles to wider adoption, more than scepticism about effectiveness or environmental benefits. 6.               Knowledge as Key Driver: Product knowledge emerged as the strongest predictor of purchase intention (β = 0.356), indicating that information dissemination and consumer education are critical for market expansion. 7.               Indian Brand Dominance: Domestic brands (Patanjali and Himalaya) achieve higher awareness and purchase rates than international competitors, suggesting advantages in pricing, distribution, and cultural alignment. 8.               Tangible over Abstract: Marketing strategies emphasising concrete attributes (natural ingredients, eco-labels, green packaging) outperform abstract environmental benefit claims.  

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