THE GEOGRAPHY OF SUPERMARKET RETAILING AND GREEN PRODUCT AVAILABILITY IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

There has been a growth in environmental awareness during the 1980s and 1990s due to the coincidence of major environmental issues and incidents which harmed the environment This concern became an impetus for consumers to demand products that are manufactured and supplied in ways which minimise the impact on the environment. Green consumerism has thus become a major source of influence that promotes environmental awareness. Green consumerism can be promoted through green labelling ( or eco-labelling) schemes which award environmentally benign products with eco-labels. The aims are to encourage firms to adopt environment-friendly policies in their operations as well as to help consumers differentiate green from non-green products. Generally, it is expected that green consumerism is a product of affluence, meaning that high income earners are more likely to display a green purchasing behaviour than persons with low incomes. Therefore, retailers being profit-driven, may be expected to give most emphasis to green products in their stores which serve affluent areas. This thesis examines the availability of green products (identifiable with a GreenLabel logo) in Singapore. Based on an observation of 16 stores and interviews with supermarket mangers, the thesis found that there appears to be no link between affluence and green consumerism in Singapore. The supply of green products is spatially uniform and supermarkets show no preference for affluent areas in their stocking of green products. Store managers explain the uniformity of provision from a lack of demand from customers for green products. This is reflected in a generally low level of emphasis to all types of GreenLabel products, with significant shelf space allocated only to detergents and dishwashing liquid out of the 14 products examined in this study. The thesis also examines the factors which contribute to green consumerism in Singapore lagging behind that of the western. affluent countries. The factors are related to the social and economic structure of the country, as well as the inadequacy of media coverage on green issues. The implications of this study are that supermarkets have a major role to play in encouraging the trend in green consumerism through changes in their stocking policy, and it will take a long time before Singaporeans change their attitude and behaviour towards the environment. To encourage supermarkets to give greater attention to green consumers, it is recommended that they be encouraged to widen the adoption of certified environmental management systems (EMS).