The Effect of Employing Green Materials on the Business Performance of the Sustainable Retail Sector

Abstract

There has been an increasing demand in the retail sector to become more environmentally sustainable in its operations. One crucial aspect of sustainable retail operations is green materials, which can lead to better business performance among firms in sustainable retailing. The quantitative approach was adopted in this study, whereby a structured questionnaire was administered to the respondents, who, in this case, were retailers in a specific sustainable retail environment. The population of this study comprises 200 retailers based in the sustainable retail sector who are using green materials for their supply chain packaging and manufacturing processes, such as Post Industry Recycled, biodegradable and organically oriented materials. This study will help develop strategies to incorporate green materials in business operations to benefit companies in a sustainable retailing business. The research shows that adopting environment friendly materials such as biodegradable and recyclable ones can make a company more profitable, prefered by customers, loyal to the customers and respond to their needs and promote their image to previse customers who are green conscious. It entails that sustainable actors in the retail sector who incorporate green materials in their product designing and manufacturing processes are likely to snatch the sustainable market efficiently.