GREEN MINDS, ETHICAL CHOICES: UNDERSTANDING THE ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

Environmental awareness plays a crucial role in shaping ethical consumer behaviour, particularly among young individuals. This study, conducted at Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India, explores the relationship between environmental awareness and ethically minded consumer behaviour among undergraduate students. The research employed two standardized tools the SRCB Scale and the Environmental Awareness Ability Measure Scale (EAA) for data collection, with SPSS used for statistical analysis. According to the findings of this study, researchers found that the majority of students showed a greater inclination towards socially conscious consumer behaviour (SCCB) than ecologically conscious consumer behaviour (ECCB), except for male students and the students of the Arts stream, who were more inclined towards ecologically conscious consumer behaviour (ECCB). The research also revealed that there was no significant difference in the environmental awareness ability of SCCB and ECCB groups in the total sample and across the sub-sample, such as gender, stream, and locality. Notably, female students demonstrated greater environmental awareness ability than male students, while no substantial differences were observed across academic streams and localities. The findings of this research emphasized taking initiatives that promote socially and environmentally conscious consumer behaviour and promoting sustainable consumption habits among the students. These findings call for targeted educational programs and policy interventions to bridge the gap between awareness and action, encouraging responsible consumerism among university students.