Men can be persuaded to go "green" if environmental products are branded in a more "masculine" way, a new study has found.
Studies show that men are not as environmentally friendly as women. Not too many "man caves" feature solar panels, recycle bins or posters of electric cars, researchers said.
James Wilkie from University of Notre Dame in the US and colleagues have now provided evidence that shoppers who engage in green behaviours are stereotyped by others as more feminine and also see themselves as more feminine.
In a series of seven studies, researchers manipulated small details about the products, attempting to change men's attitudes and behaviours.
They found that men are more open to purchasing environmental products if their masculinity gets a branding boost.
"Previous research shows that men tend to be more concerned about maintaining a masculine identity than women are with their feminine identity," said Wilkie.
"We therefore thought that men might be more open to environmental products if we made them feel secure in their masculinity, so they are less threatened by adopting a green product," he said.
Researchers used two approaches - affirming a man's masculinity before introducing him to environmental products and changing the associations people have towards green products.
"We documented how both men and women find green products and actions to be feminine. We thought that if you reframe environmental products to be more masculine, men would be more likely to adopt them," said Wilkie.
"Instead of using traditional marketing messages about green products (which are typically perceived as feminine), we changed the messages to be more masculine in nature by changing the phrasing, colours, etc. When we did that, we found that men were more willing to 'go green,'" he said.
One study was conducted in China at a BMW dealership and focused on a model known for being an eco-friendly car. While surveying shoppers, researchers simply changed the name of the car from the traditional, environmentally friendly name to "Protection," which is a masculine term in China.
Despite all other descriptions of the car remaining the same, the name change did increase men's interest in the car.
In another study, researchers compared men's and women's willingness to donate to green charities.
They called one "Friends of Nature," with a bright green logo featuring a tree. The second was named "Fun for Wilderness Rangers" showcasing a wolf howling to the moon.
Women favoured the more traditional green marketing, while more men were drawn to the masculine branding over the traditional.
The findings were published in the Journal of Consumer Research.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
