Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe by Email Looks like Malaysian have the heart but don’t have the means. Of course its nice to say that we support eco-friendly products and companies, but no point when we are unable to purchase those products due to cost factor.
We worry about pollution but we are the ones who patronise restaurants that dump waste into drains. We are not bothered about the pasar malam or market sellers who pollute the environment, nor are we concerned about the factories and industry that damage in large scale. We are the ones who dispose garbage everywhere, litter in public places, don’t maintain vehicles till cause air pollution, grumble when there’s no plastic bag offered at supermarkets, print paper as we like, and so on. Ideally it would be nice to be eco-friendly, but realistically, not many can afford to do so. Most people are busy working 2 or 3 jobs trying to put food on table, where got time for all this.
The majority of Malaysians worry about the environment but only one in five is willing to pay more for eco-friendly products, according to the Nielsen 2011 Global Online Environment and Sustainability Survey.
The survey polled over 25,000 Internet respondents in 51 countries.
It said the huge disparity between environmental concerns and price sensitivity placed Malaysians as the second least likely group among their Asean counterparts to pay more for eco-friendly products.
Survey results showed 38% of people said they would buy cheaper non-eco-friendly products despite preferring eco-friendly products.
Another 41% said they would buy whatever was cheapest, on promotion or better value for their money.
Nielsen Malaysia managing director Kow Kuan Hua said the high prices of eco-friendly products such as organic food were a hindrance to Malaysian consumers.
“They are also concerned about other push factors such as the economy, rising living and fuel costs, which will drive them to buy cheaper options,” he said.
However, the survey also revealed that Malaysians had a positive view of retailers and manufacturers with environmentally-sustainable practices, with 52% saying they would be influenced to shop and buy from them.
Nine out of 10 Malaysians surveyed also expressed great concern over air pollution, water pollution and global warming.
This put Malaysia in ninth position among all the countries surveyed in terms of consumer worries about the impact of air pollution and global warming.
source: http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/9/7/nation/20110907181455&sec=nation
