Sustainable beauty: decoding motivational factors in green cosmetics consumption
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5585/2025.29924Palavras-chave:
consumer behavior, conscious consumption, consumption motivations, green cosmeticsResumo
Objective: To investigate the effect of environmental trust and motivations on the conscious consumption of green cosmetics in both social and ecological dimensions.
Method: A survey was conducted with 386 green cosmetics consumers using the Structural Equation Modeling method for data analysis.
Originality/Relevance: This research sought to add new findings to the studies on green cosmetics consumption behavior from the perspective of Self-Determination Theory (SDT), still scarcely applied in this consumer segment.
Results: The findings reveal that environmental trust plays a salient role as an antecedent in shaping consumption motivations, particularly within the dimensions of external regulation and introjected regulation. Furthermore, the results highlight the significant impact of motivation on conscious consumption behavior, especially in the environmental context. Additionally, consumers’ environmental trust plays a prominent role in driving the preference for products with environmental attributes compared to social themes.
Theoretical/Methodological Contributions: The study’s results contribute to demonstrating the explanatory–empirical potential of SDT in consumer research, particularly in predicting the antecedents and outcomes of consumption motivations.
Managerial Contributions: It is recommended that marketing managers in the industry: (a) invest in business sustainability with transparent actions to increase environmental trust in the brand, and (b) adopt recognized certifications to positively influence the habits of cosmetics consumers.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Keloane Mendes da Silva, Luciana Florêncio de Almeida, Marcelo Luiz Dias da Silva Gabriel

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