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Articles of Eco-Friendly Consumption: A Content Analysis

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 Print ISSN: 2321-6379
Online ISSN: 2321-595X
Origi na l A r tic le DOI: 10.17354/ijssOct/2017/7

Articles of Eco-Friendly Consumption: A Content

Analysis
Ayfer Bukuk, Engin Baysen, Serife Gunduz, Fatma Baysen, Serap Ozbas
Near East University, Ataturk Education Faculty, Department of Environmental Education and Management, North Cyprus, Mersin 10 Turkey

Abstract
This piece of work aims to analyse the general tendencies of the articles in journals about eco-friendly consumption published
at SCOPUS. This study includes 162 studies from 121 different journals about eco-friendly consumption, which were published
between 2013 and 2017. In this study, the only document types that were taken into consideration were the journals, which
were published in English. In order to evaluate the studies, the classification forms, which we have specifically developed with
regard to the subject of eco-friendly consumption, were used. The published studies about eco-friendly consumption were
evaluated in terms of: the year, the publisher of the journal, the country where the study took place, the model-design-method
development, the research type, the research method, the subjects, the keywords, the chosen samples, the size of the samples,
the data collection tools, and the data analysis method. The findings are shown as percentages, frequencies, tables and graphs
in this study. The results showed that the quantitative research methods and the experimental research models are the most
frequently used methods in the area of eco-friendly consumption. The most preferred analysis methods and techniques used in
the studies about eco-friendly consumption were the quantitative ones. The most used data analysis method was descriptive data
analysis (frequency/percentage), which is among the quantitative data analysis methods. As for inferential analysis techniques,
mostly ANOVA, regression, correlation and t-tests were preferred. Mostly, consumers were chosen as the sample group while
observations, tests and surveys were used as data collection tools.

Keywords: Eco-friendly consumption, Green consumption, Environmentally friendly consumer, Articles, Content analysis,
SCOPUS

INTRODUCTION and even the complete consumption of non-renewable

The subjects of population growth, industrialisation,
pollution, food production and consumption of
earth’s resources were trending in the 1970s, while the
concern for the future was increasing. According to the
assumptions of that time, the reasons for environmental
hazards were caused by the population growth in both
undeveloped and developing countries (Stern, Diets,
& Ruttan, 1997). While the increase in consumption
and, therefore, an increase in production levels were
considered beneficial for investors and the economy,
the dangerous levels of air, water and soil pollution,
ecological imbalances, the destruction of resources
Access this article online
Month of Submission : 06-2017
Month of Peer Review : 07-2017
Month of Acceptance : 09-2017
Month of Publishing : 10-2017
www.ijss-sn.com
Corresponding Author: Engin Baysen, Near East University, Ataturk Education Faculty, Department of Environmental Education and
Management, North Cyprus, Mersin 10 Turkey. Phone: +90 392 223 64 64, E-mail: ayferb84@hotmail.com
resources came into question (Cohen, 2001).
Currently, environmental problems are encountered
both by individuals and communities at an appreciable
level. Some societies and individuals are aware that the
earth’s vital resources are in danger of consumption as
a result of environmental problems; therefore, they act
responsibly as consumers (Elden, 2009; Demir, 2015; Yucel
& Ozkan, 2016).
The recent rapid increase in the destruction and pollution
of the natural environment has caused an increase in
environmental concerns, especially among consumers,
which has led to the idea of protecting nature. This
situation has helped the act of eco-friendly consumption
to develop.
Eco-friendly consumption can be defined as “minimising
the harm caused to the environment in every aspect of
consumption, while considering the environmental benefits”
(Yılmaz & Arslan, 2011). Eco-friendly consumption can be

53 International Journal of Scientific Study | October 2017 | Vol 5 | Issue 7

 Bukukm, et al.: Eco-frıendly Consumptıon
achieved by both consuming ecological, recycled and only
right number of goods needed, and by purchasing goods
from companies that do not pollute the environment,
but do support environmental projects and produce eco-
friendly goods (Yılmaz & Arslan, 2011).
The concept of environmentally sensitive, eco-friendly
or sustainable consumption is now being considered as
a subject by the business world, and state and non-profit
organisations (Sedliacik & Dado, 2017). This concept is used
to define the sensitive use of natural resources, which aims
to minimize pollution during the consumption of goods
and using services. (World Business Council for Sustainable
Development, 2008, p. 7). In some papers, the term
“green consumption” is used instead of “environmentally
conscious”, “eco-friendly” or “sustainable”. Therefore,
green consumption means sustainable and clean in every
aspect (Hess, 2012, p. 23).
The indications of global climate change and the
exploitation of the limited resources of our planet have
recently caused an interest in goods that can maintain
sustainable development among consumers. This situation
has led consumers to support eco-friendly goods and
services (Çabuk & Nakıboğlu, 2003; Uzunboylu, Bicen &
Vehapi, 2017).
This tendency has led the terms “green consumer” and
“environmental consumer” to emerge. Even though
consumers who are conscious about environment can be
defined by various expressions, they are usually addressed
as “green consumers”.
According to Nakıboğlu (2003, p. 55), the green consumer
is “someone who is conscious about the environment and
acts with environmental awareness, uses their power of
consumption and consumer rights to maintain sustainable
development, while considering their responsibilities for
their community’s and next generation’s habitat in the every
stage of their consumption behaviours”.
Former consumers were only interested in purchasing and
consuming goods, while today’s consumers have become
green consumers, as they are concerned about the details
of the production and consumption of the goods from
limited resources (Yücel & Ekmekçiler, 2008, p. 328). In
order for next generation to have a healthy life and for them
to leave a cleaner earth to their offspring, this has led many
people to be sensitive about using eco-friendly products,
in our increasingly polluted world (Duru & Şua, 2013).
Recently, interest in the environment and environmental
awareness has increased, which has led to an increase in
demand for environmentally friendly products. As a result
International Journal of Scientific Study | October 2017 | Vol 5 | Issue 7
of consumers’ concerns, some alterations have occurred in
the demand for products, which has led to the concepts of
“eco-friendly products”, “ecological products” or “green
products” to increase in the marketplace.
Green products can be defined as: products, which are
recyclable, or products with recycled packing, which are
energy saving (doing the same job by using relatively less
energy than the other alternatives) and not harmful to
human health (especially to children) and the environment
(Atli et al., 2015; Berkin, 2017). According to Blair (1992),
the features of a green product can be listed as: it has
the ability to reduce the global environment problems, it
helps in energy saving, it does not cause pollution, it can
be fixed easily, it is designed to be reusable or recyclable,
it is produced with the less packing, it is produced from
renewable resources, it is based upon security, it is produced
to satisfy real and sincere human needs, it presents enough
information on its tag label, it is not harmful to human
health, it does not contain harmful chemicals, it is not
tested on animals (Nakıboğlu, 2003, p. 41).
Currently, there is a new consumer profile that has eco-
friendly behavioural tendencies regarding the production
and consumption of goods and, as a result, there has
been a rapid increase in environmental concern. These
consumers who are termed “green consumers” are not
only concerned about consumption, but also about the
limitations of the resources and the after use processes
of the products. These changes have inspired the need to
research and evaluate eco-friendly consumption in depth
from a detailed and totalitarian perspective (Altuntaş &
Turan, 2016).
As far as we are aware, there is no content analysis study
about the quality of the eco-friendly consumption articles.
Therefore, this study will be a content analysis about
eco-friendly consumption. This study is important, as it
is the first study in this field and the findings obtained in
this paper will provide scientific information about the
quality of the journals about eco-friendly consumption.
An examination of the tendencies of the journals about
eco-friendly consumption with the content analysis method
will fill a considerable gap in the literature. Moreover, when
the figurative and experimental studies about eco-friendly
consumption are considered, examining and gathering
these studies on a common ground will shed light on the
situation or any deficiencies in the literature and give ideas
for future research (Güven, Kaplan, Varinlioğlu, Sungur,
Hamalosmanoğlu, & Bozkurt, 2014).
Research Objectives
The objectives of this research were to introduce the
definitive features and general tendencies of the studies
54
 Bukukm, et al.: Eco-frıendly Consumptıon
about eco-friendly consumption, which were published in
Scopus between the years 2013 and 2017.
Research Questions
The studies that are indicated in this paper were evaluated
in various sizes. These questions were posed while the
studies were being evaluated:
· What is the distribution of the studies about eco-
friendly consumption by year?
· What methods have been used in the research about
eco-friendly consumption?
· What is the distribution of the research about eco-
friendly consumption by model–design–method
development?
· What is the distribution of the research about eco-
friendly consumption by sample size and sample
group?
· What research designs are used in the research about
eco-friendly consumption?
· What data collection tools are used in the research
about eco-friendly consumption?
· What is the data analysis method used in the research
about eco-friendly consumption?
· What are the most frequently used keywords in the
research about eco-friendly consumption?
· What research subjects are used in the research about
eco-friendly consumption?
· What is the distribution of the research about eco-
friendly consumption by subject field?
· What is the distribution of the research about eco-
friendly consumption by countries?
· What is the distribution of the research about eco-
friendly consumption by journals?
METHOD
Research Model
This research was a scanning model type of research.
According to the objectives of this research, the content
analysis method was used, which is commonly used in
qualitative research to interpret similar data into specific
concepts and themes and to arrange it in order for the
reader to understand easily (Yıldırım & Şimşek, 2013).
Scope of the Research
As this study evaluated the general tendencies of various
studies about eco-friendly consumption published in
Scopus, the research consisted of 162 different articles
about eco-friendly consumption published in 121 different
journals between 2013 and 2017. In this study, we aimed
to reach the whole universe as the sample. However, some
articles from some journals could not be reached during
the research, therefore, 143 whole articles were used,
55 International Journal of Scientific Study | October 2017 | Vol 5 | Issue 7
which could be accessed and the summaries of the other
19 articles, which could not be reached as a whole, were
effectively used.
Data Collection Tools
In this study, a publication classification form was used
as a data collection tool, which was specifically developed
by the researcher in order to be appropriate for the
eco-friendly consumption subject. This data collection
form was composed of twelve parts. They included: the
name of the article, the journal of publication, the year,
the keywords, the type of the article, the subject of the
article, the method, the data collection tools, the level of
the sample, the number of the samples, the data analysis
method and model design method development status. The
distribution of the research by subject and by countries was
taken from Scopes’ data analysis section.
In this study, a document review was used as a data
collection method. In the first stage of the document
review, the articles from the sample group were searched in
Scopus. “Eco-friendly consumption” was used as a keyword,
“2013 – 2017” was chosen as the year range, “article” was
chosen as research type and “English” was chosen as the
language. Therefore, 162 articles that were a part of the
research were downloaded on a computer in pdf format to
form a data pool. The researcher evaluated this data pool
during the research. In the second stage, the articles that
had been downloaded to the computer were classified and
coded by the classification form, which was developed by
the researcher. Reading and studying the data set multiple
times during the coding process created the codes. In order
to maintain this article’s consistency, the collected data are
provided in the findings section, while the information
about the same topic is interpreted. In order to maintain the
validity of this article, the design, samples, data collection
tool, and the process during the data analysis are detailed
in the methods section (Sözbilir, Güler, & Çiltaş, 2012).
The data, which was collected from articles by the content
analysis, was analysed by a figurative statistical method
(percentage and frequency analysis) in this research. The
findings of the research are provided in the findings section.
FINDINGS
The findings, which were collected by using the research
questions, are analysed and presented below. The
distribution of the studies about eco-friendly consumption
by year is presented in Table 1.
As shown in Table 1, the articles published about eco-
friendly consumption increased during 2013 – 2017. The
 Bukukm, et al.: Eco-frıendly Consumptıon

biggest increase can be seen in 2015 and 2016 according
to Figure 1. It was found that in 2016, 55 (34%) of articles
were published and in 2015, 46 (28,4%) of articles were
published. However, in 2017 the number of articles was
very low, as the year has not finished yet.
The findings about the research methods that were used in
the research about eco- friendly consumption are presented
in Table 2.
or they were for trying new methods. Some of these
researchers put forward a product or a service design about
eco-friendly consumption. As shown in Table 3, 31 (48.4%)
of the 64 studies suggested a new method, 20 (31.3 %)
articles presented a product design and 13  (20.3%) put
forward a new model about eco-friendly consumption.
The findings about the sampling groups used in eco-
friendly consumption studies are presented in Table 4.

As shown in Table 2, the studies with a quantitative
research method are preferred in the field of eco-friendly
consumption. Between 2013 and 2017 the most favoured
research method among the studies about eco-friendly
consumption was the quantitative research method (87%),
the second most favoured was the qualitative research
method (11.1%) and the least favoured was the combined
research method.
Table 3 provides the distribution of the studies about
eco-friendly consumption by method – design – model
development.
It was found that some research about eco-friendly
consumption, published between 2013 and 2017, either
developed a new method about eco-friendly consumption,
After our analysis, we detected that 129 of 162 articles
about eco-friendly consumption were experimental and did
not contain any sample group. Therefore, there are a few
numbers of sample groups in the eco-friendly consumption
studies as shown in Table 4. Besides this, the most studied
sample group in this paper was the
consumers (23.1%), followed by households (19.2%),
drivers (15.4%) and university students (15.4%). There
were a few studies of families that had various different
jobs, parents, fishermen’s families and restaurant customers
(3.8%)
Table  5 provides findings about the number of sample
groups that were used in the eco-friendly consumption
studies.

Table 1: Distribution of the studies about

eco‑friendly consumption by year Table 4: The distribution of the studies about
eco‑friendly consumption by sample group
Years f %
Sample group F %
2017 12 7.4
2016 55 34 Consumers 6 23.1
2015 46 28.4 City households 5 19.2
2014 26 16 Drivers 4 15.4
2013 23 14.2 University students 4 15.4
Total 162 100 Employed families 1 3.8
Parents 1 3.8
Teenagers and families 1 3.8
Fishermen’s families 1 3.8
Table 2: The distribution of the studies about Restaurant customers 1 3.8
eco‑friendly consumption by research methods Others 2 7.7
Total 26 100
Research method f %
Quantitative 141 87
Qualitative 18 11.1
Combined 3 1.9 Table 5: The distribution of the studies about
Total 162 100 eco‑friendly consumption by sample group
numbers
Sample number f %
Table 3: The distribution of the studies Between 1‑50 13 41.9
about eco‑friendly consumption by Between 51‑100 1 3.2
mode – design – method development Between 101‑200 6 19.4
Between 201‑400 4 12.9
Method–design-model f % Between 401‑600 1 3.2
Method 31 48.4 Between 601‑800 2 6.5
Design 20 31.3 Between 801‑1000 1 3.2
Model 13 20.3 More than 1000 3 9.7
Total 64 100 Total 31 100

International Journal of Scientific Study | October 2017 | Vol 5 | Issue 7 56

 Bukukm, et al.: Eco-frıendly Consumptıon

Table 6: The distribution of the studies about

eco‑friendly consumption by research design
Research design f %
Experimental research 129 80
Scanning 24 15
Precedent 3 1.9
Case study 2 1.2
Ethnographical research 2 1.2
Historical research 1 0.6
Field research 1 0.6
Total 162 100

Figure 1: The distribution of the studies about eco-friendly

consumption by year
As presented in Table 5, the most preferred sample
number was between 1-50  (41.9%). It is followed by
1001–200 (19.4%) in second place and 201–400 (12.9%)
in third place. The percentage of the studies that had more
than 1000
samples was 9.7%. The least preferred sample numbers
were 601–800  (6.5%); 801–1000, 401– 600, and 51–
100 (3.2%).
Table 6 presents findings about the research design used
in the eco-friendly consumption studies.
As shown in Table 6, the analysis showed that the most
preferred research designs were the experimental design
and scanning models, which are also quantitative research
methods. Experimental research design was the most
favoured research designs found in this research (80%).
It was followed by non-experimental scanning research
design (15%) in second place. The least preferred research
designs were precedent, case study, ethnographical research,
historical and field research.
Table 7 shows findings about data collection tools used in
eco-friendly consumption studies as detailed below.
As seen in Table 7, observation (31.4%) and tests (chemical/
laboratory tests) (28%) were the most used data collection
tools in the eco-friendly consumption studies. This was
followed by survey (14.4%) interview (11%), document
review (9.3%) and literature scan (5.9%) techniques. Table 8
presents the findings about data analysis methods used in
the eco-friendly consumption studies.
As shown in Table 8, the most preferred analysis methods
and techniques used in the studies about eco-friendly
consumption were the quantitative ones. The most
used data analysis method was descriptive data analysis
(frequency/percentage 47.9%), which was among the
quantitative data analysis methods. As for Inferential
Table 7: The distribution of the studies about
eco‑friendly consumption by data collection tools
Data collection tools f %
Observation 37 31.4
Test 33 28
Survey 17 14.4
Meeting/Interview/Report 13 11
Document review 11 9.3
Literature scan 7 5.9
Total 118 100
analysis techniques, mostly ANOVA (10.8%) and regression
(6.6%) were preferred. These were followed by correlation
(4.8%), t-test (3.6%) factor analysis (3%) and Duncan
test (3%). As for qualitative data analysis methods and
techniques, the most used method was content analysis
(12.6%).
As a result of some detailed analysis, we found that there
were some specific data analysis techniques used in eco-
friendly consumption studies.
In this study, where 162 pieces of research about eco-
friendly consumption were published between 2013 and
2017, the researchers used some data analysis techniques,
which were specific to their researchers besides general
data analysis methods and techniques. As seen in Table 9,
the most preferred data analysis method was FTIR analysis
(10.7%). Sensitivity analysis (8.7%) was second place and
GC/MS analysis (gas chromatography/mass spectrometry
analysis) (7.8%) was in third place of the data analysis
methods. These were followed by TGA analysis (5.8%),
XRD analysis (4.9%), chemical analysis (3.9%) and XPS
analysis (3.9%). These were the data analysis techniques with
a frequency number of 1: TES (systems analysis), DMTA
(dynamic mechanical thermal analysis), uncertainty analysis,
phylogenetic analysis, corrosion analysis, multi-group
analysis, EDAX analysis, UV viscous analysis, COD analysis,
NMR analysis, EPR analysis, TOF analysis, class grouping
analysis, EDS analysis (the element dispersive spectrometric
analysis), 16SrDNA gene sequence analysis, micro-
pore structure analysis, sensory analysis, anti-nutritional

57 International Journal of Scientific Study | October 2017 | Vol 5 | Issue 7

 Bukukm, et al.: Eco-frıendly Consumptıon

As shown in Table 10, the most frequently used keyword

Table 8: The distribution of the studies about
in the studies about eco-friendly consumption was
eco‑friendly consumption by data analysis
sustainability/sustainable development (7.7%). It was
methods
followed respectively by emission (greenhouse gasses
Data analysis methods Data analysis f %
and techniques
emission/CO2) (6.9%), eco-friendly/eco-friendly method
(6.1%), energy production/energy consumption/energy
Frequency/Percentage 80 47.9
Descriptive Standard deviation 2 1.2 recovery (5.8%), environment/environmental effect
ANOVA 18 10.8 (5.8%), fuel/fuel consumption/fuel efficiency (4.2%) and
Regression 11 6.6 life cycle assessment (4.2%).
Correlation 8 4.8
t‑test 6 3.6
Quantitative Factor analysis 5 3 Table 11 presents the distribution of the eco-friendly
Duncan test 5 3 consumption studies by research subjects below.
Inferential Post‑hoc test 3 1.8
Turkey test 1 0.6 There were 29 different research subjects detected when
SNK test 1 0.6
LSD test 1 0.6 the eco-friendly consumption studies were examined.
Cochran test 1 0.6
Pearson test 1 0.6 As shown in Table 11, in the studies of eco-friendly
KMO test 1 0.6 consumption, researchers mostly studied about eco-
Chi² test 1 0.6
DMTR (multiple interval test) 1 0.6 friendly methods development (14%). This was followed
Qualitative Content Analysis 21 12.6 by eco-friendly design development (9.1%), eco-friendly
Total 167 100 biological process and green alternative development
(8.2%), sustainability/sustainable development (6.8%) and
eco-friendly model development (5.9%). It was found that
Table 9: The distribution of studies about there were very few studies about the limitations in eco-
eco‑friendly consumption by the specific data friendly technological development (0.5%), consumption
analysis method and climate change (0.5%) and marketing communication
Specific data analysis techniques f % in animal production (0.5%). Besides this, it was found
FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy) 11 10.7 that some research included more than one research
Sensitivity analysis 9 8.7 subject.
GC/MS (Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry 8 7.8
analysis)
TGA (Thermo gravimetric analysis) 6 5.8 Table 12 presents the distribution of the studies about
XRD (X‑ray diffraction analysis) 5 4.9 eco-friendly consumption by subject field below.
Chemical analysis 4 3.9
XPS analysis (X‑ray photoelectron spectroscopy) 4 3.9 As shown in Table 12, most of the eco-friendly consumption
Multi aspect analysis 3 2.9
Comparative analysis 3 2.9 studies published between 2013 and 2017 were about
Multi‑objective optimization analysis 3 2.9 environmental science (43.2%). Moreover, energy (29%),
HPLC (High performance liquid chromatography) 3 2.9 engineering (24.1%), social sciences (19.1%), chemical
Characterization analysis 2 1.9
BET analysis (Brunauer‑Emmett‑Teller) 2 1.9
engineering (15.4%) and agricultural and biological sciences
TEM analysis (The transmission electron microscope) 2 1.9 (14.8%) were the other subjects used in the studies. The
LCA analysis (Life cycle assessment) 2 1.9 fewest number of studies in the field of eco-friendly
Others (total of the ones with 1 frequency) 36 35 consumption were about health occupations (1%),
TOTAL 103 100
neurology (1%) and veterinary studies (1%).

analysis, polyphenol analysis, UHPLC analysis (ultra-high
performance liquid chromatography), FESEM analysis,
CFC analysis, HFC analysis, HCM analysis, the relative
importance analysis, bootstrap analysis, SIA (sequential
injection analysis), DEA (data envelopment analysis), DSC
analysis, SEM/EDX analysis, TC/DTA elemental analysis,
MALDI analysis, DMA (dynamic mechanical analysis), TPR
analysis, LNA (the parasitic analysis), hydrometer analysis.
Table 10 presents the most frequently used keywords in
the field of eco-friendly consumption.
Table 13 presents the distribution of the eco-friendly
consumption by countries.
As a result of the detailed analysis in this paper, which
included 162 different studies about eco-friendly
consumption published between 2013 and 2017, it was
found that the studies took place in 54 different countries.
According to this, the most studies about eco-friendly
consumption took place in India with 33 studies (16.2%).
China was in second place with 25 studies (12.3%), Italy
was third with 13 studies (6.4%), these three countries

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 Bukukm, et al.: Eco-frıendly Consumptıon

Table 10: The most frequently used keywords in the field of eco‑friendly consumption studies
Keywords f % Keywords f %
Sustainability/sustainable development 20 7.7 Simulation 3 1.2
Emission (greenhouse gases emissions/CO² emission) 18 6.9 Climate change 3 1.2
Eco‑friendly/eco‑friendly method 16 6.1 ZEB (zero energy building) 3 1.2
Energy production/energy consumption/energy recovery 15 5.8 Eco‑labelled products 3 1.2
Environment/environmental effect 15 5.8 Biopolymer 3 1.2
Fuel/fuel consumption/fuel efficiency 11 4.2 Phase change 3 1.2
Life Cycle Assessment 11 4.2 Pentanol/N‑pentanol 2 0.8
Energy/energy efficiency 10 3.8 Bioremediassion ? 2 0.8
Consumer preference/consumer attitude/consumer behaviour 10 3.8 Blast Furnace Slag 2 0.8
Waste/waste production/waste management 9 3.5 Biosorption 2 0.8
Performance 8 3.1 Alternative fuel 2 0.8
Renewable energy (wind/solar) 8 3.1 Brand/brand awareness 2 0.8
Biodiesel 8 3.1 Election experiment 2 0.8
Recycle 6 2.3 Optimisation 2 0.8
Fishery/aquaculture 5 1.9 Yellow grease 2 0.8
Eco driving 4 1.5 Total power consumption 2 0.8
Cooling system 4 1.5 Consumption 2 0.8
Waste cooking oil 4 1.5 Polystyrene/foam polystyrene 2 0.8
Electricity/Electric automobile 4 1.5 Hydrodynamic 2 0.8
Biogas 4 1.5 Green marketing 2 0.8
Methyl ester 4 1.5 Wheat straw 2 0.8
Carbon/carbon footprint 4 1.5 Driving simulation 2 0.8
Burning 3 1.2 Hydrocarbon 2 0.8
Diesel motor 3 1.2 Oxidation 2 0.8
Sol‑gel 3 1.2
Total 261 100 261 100

were followed by France and Malaysia, with 10 studies
each (4.9%). Romania has relatively few eco-friendly
consumption studies (1.5%).
Table 14 presents the distribution of the studies about
eco-friendly consumption by published journals.
As a result of the research, 121 of the 162 studies about
eco-friendly consumption were analysed, which had been
published in various journals between the years of 2013
and 2017. This considerable number and variety of studies
indicates that numerous researchers studied eco-friendly
consumption in different fields. The table shows 26
journals. Most of the studies were published in Sustainability
Switzerland (4.3%). This was followed by Bioresources
Technology, Environmental Science and Pollution Research and
International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment (2.5%).
RESULTS, DISCUSSION AND SUGGESTIONS
The studies about eco-friendly consumption between
2013 and 2017 were examined in detail in this research.
This research was a content analysis, which was limited to
162 articles published in 121 different journals in Scopus.
Only articles in the English language were considered
as a document type. In order to evaluate the studies, a
classification form, which was specifically developed for
eco-friendly consumption, was used. The studies about
eco-friendly consumption were evaluated in terms of:
the year, the journal, the country where the study took
place, model–design–method development, research type,
research method, subject area, keywords, chosen sample,
sample size, data collection tools and data analysis method.
This study is the first content analysis for eco-friendly
consumption, which aimed to detect the current tendencies
regarding eco-friendly consumption.
It was found by this research that there was an increase in
the studies regarding eco-friendly consumption between
2013 and 2017. The maximum increase occurred during
2015 and 2016. This indicates that interest in environmental
sensitivity and eco-friendly consumption is currently rising.
In this research, we found that the most published research
type was quantitative research. This is because quantitative
papers provide easy and accessible results, give direct
numerical data to use, and generalizable results, which
can be used to compare different groups and enable the
examination of different variables more than qualitative
papers. Besides this, the considerable number of eco-
friendly consumption studies is in experimental research,
which also results in the quantitative method being a
necessity. Another research result was that qualitative and
combined research methods were the least used methods in
the field of eco-friendly consumption. This result indicates
that researchers prefer experimental and scanning study

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Table 11: The distribution of the studies about Table 12: The distribution of the studies about
eco‑friendly consumption by research subjects eco‑friendly consumption by subject field
Research subjects f % Subject field f %
Eco‑friendly method development 31 14 Environmental science 70 43.2
Eco‑friendly design development 20 9.1 Energy 47 29
Eco‑friendly biological process and green alternative 18 8.2 Engineering 39 24.1
development Social sciences 31 19.1
Sustainability/sustainable development 15 6.8 Chemical engineering 25 15.4
Eco‑friendly model development 13 5.9 Agricultural and biological sciences 24 14.8
Life cycle assessment 10 4.5 Materials science 23 14.2
Eco‑friendly product production (use, assessment) 10 4.5 Chemistry 22 13.6
Energy consumption/energy saving 10 4.5 Medicine 21 13
Wastes and recovery 9 4.1 Pharmacology, toxicology and pharmaceuticals 7 4.3
Consumer preference and perception towards 8 3.6 Multidisciplinary 6 3.7
eco‑friendly products Arts and Humanities 5 3.1
Eco‑friendly behaviour (dies) 7 3.2 Biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology 5 3.1
Alternative fuels and biodiesel production 6 2.7 Computer science 5 3.1
Greenhouse gasses/decreasing emissions (evaluation) 6 2.7 Physics and astronomy 5 3.1
Attitudes towards eco‑friendly products (intention, 6 2.7 Immunology and microbiology 4 2.5
awareness) Decision sciences 3 1.9
New eco‑friendly technology suggestion 6 2.7 Mathematics 2 1.2
Energy management (energy production, energy 6 2.7 Psychology 2 1.2
efficiency) Health professions 1 1
Eco‑driving 5 2.3 Neuroscience 1 1
Eco‑friendly use and improvement of waste 5 2.3 Veterinary science 1 1
water (polluted water) Total 162 100
Eco‑friendly solution development 5 2.3
Renewable energy systems and analysis 4 1.8
Emission and performance evaluation of eco‑friendly 4 1.8 eco-friendly consumption interests consumers the most,
oils in the use of diesel machines
Producing biofuel (biodiesel) from vegetable oil 4 1.8
consumers were then followed by city households, drivers
Environmental effect 3 1.4 and university students. There were fewer studies about
Carbon footprint 3 1.4 employed families, parents, fishing families and restaurant
Eco‑friendly fuel development by recycling 2 0.9 customers. Moreover, sample groups such as; educators
Environmental implementation from aquaculture 2 0.9
Limitations in eco‑friendly technology development 1 0.5
(teachers, tutors, academicians) and administrators from
Consumption and climate change 1 0.5 various fields and students, apart from university students
Marketing communications in animal production 1 0.5 (primary school, secondary school, post-graduate students),
TOTAL 221 100 were excluded from the research articles. This situation
* Some studies are for more than on area
originated mostly from researchers not preparing the
research problems for these groups (Çubukçu, Yılmaz, &
methods instead of qualitative and combined methods. İnci, 2016).
Quantitative research methods were chosen over qualitative
research because qualitative research needs more in-depth If the researchers turn towards studying sample groups,
study, takes too much time and needs to be studied in the such as educators or post-graduate students who are going
natural environment (Creswell, 2014). to become researchers, administrators and decision makers,
it will be beneficial for the effectiveness of eco-friendly
It was found that some of the eco-friendly consumption consumption studies (Kahyaoğlu, 2016).
studies published between 2013 and 2017 were for
developing or trying new methods regarding eco-friendly It was found that the sample size in the eco-friendly
consumption. Some of the studies put forward a new eco- consumption studies was mostly limited to the 1–50 range.
friendly product or service design, while others suggested This came from researchers choosing an experimental
a model about eco-friendly consumption. research design. After this, a sample size of 101–200 was
second and 201–400 was third.
While evaluating the sample group of eco-friendly
consumption studies, it was found that there was no In the studies about eco-friendly consumption, the most
sample group because the 129 studies were experimental preferred research design was the experimental design
studies. Besides this, it was found in the research that the and scanning model. In the studies about eco-friendly
sample group that was studied the most was the consumers. consumption, the most preferred data collection tools
This is an expected outcome from the research because were observation, test and survey. This results in having

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 Bukukm, et al.: Eco-frıendly Consumptıon

When the data analysis methods and techniques were

Table 13: The distribution of the studies about
studied about eco-friendly consumption, it can be seen that
eco‑friendly consumption by countries
the most preferred quantitative data analysis method and
Countries F % technique was descriptive data analysis. The most preferred
India 33 16.2 method in descriptive data analysis was percentage/
China 25 12.3
Italy 13 6.4
frequency. Even though there were more techniques
France 10 4.9 in ınferential data analysis, there were relatively fewer
Malaysia 10 4.9 ınferential data analysis techniques in the studies. The
United States 8 3.9 most preferred data analysis techniques were ANOVA,
Germany 7 3.4
South Korea 7 3.4 regression, correlation and t-test, respectively. It was
United Kingdom 7 3.4 also found that researchers used exclusive data analysis
Japan 6 3 techniques for their research. The most used data analysis
Canada 5 2.5
techniques were FTIR analysis, sensitivity analysis and GC/
Pakistan 4 2
Spain 4 2 MS analysis, respectively.
Australia 3 1.5
Belgium 3 1.5 The most frequently used keywords about the eco-friendly
Brazil 3 1.5 studies were sustainability/sustainable development,
Denmark 3 1.5
Iran 3 1.5 emission (greenhouse gas emission/CO2), eco-friendly/eco-
Netherlands 3 1.5 friendly method, energy production/energy consumption/
Romania 3 1.5 energy recovery, environment/environmental effect, fuel/
Total 204 (54 countries) 100
fuel consumption/fuel efficiency and life cycle assessment,
respectively.
Table 14: The distribution of the studies about When the eco-friendly consumption was studied, 29
eco‑friendly consumption by published journals different research subjects were detected. The research was
Journals f % mostly for eco-friendly method development, which was
Sustainability Switzerland 7 4.3 followed by eco-friendly design development, eco-friendly
Bioresource technology 4 2.5 biological processes and green alternative development,
Environmental science and pollution research 4 2.5
International journal of life cycle assessment 4 2.5
sustainability/sustainable development and eco-friendly
Energy 3 1.9 model development.
Fuel processing technology 3 1.9
Sustainable production and consumption 3 1.9 It was found that most of the eco-friendly consumption
Transportation research Part C emerging technologies 3 1.9
ACS sustainable chemistry and engineering 2 1.2
studies belong to the environmental studies. In addition,
Clean technologies and environmental policy 2 1.2 there were lots of studies about energy, engineering,
Ecotoxicology and environmental safety 2 1.2 social sciences, chemical engineering and agricultural and
Energy conversion and management 2 1.2 biological sciences. The least research about eco-friendly
Food analytical methods 2 1.2
Fuel 2 1.2 consumption was in the field of the health occupation,
Iet intelligent transport systems 2 1.2 neuroscience and veterinary science.
Indian journal of science and technology 2 1.2
Industrial crops and products 2 1.2 As a result of the analysis, it was found that eco-friendly
International journal of chemtech research 2 1.2
Journal of environmental psychology 2 1.2
consumption studies took place in 54 different countries.
Journal of materials Chemistry A 2 1.2 According to this, the countries where the most studies
Journal of water process engineering 2 1.2 have taken place were India, China and Italy, respectively.
Plus one 2 1,2 As India and China are highly populated they take the
Renewable and sustainable energy reviews 2 1.2
Renewable energy 2 1.2 first place.
Science of The total environment 2 1.2
Waste management 2 1.2 We found that 162 studies about eco-friendly consumption
Total 162 100 were published in 121 different journals. This indicates that
a lot of researchers studied eco-friendly consumption in
quantitative studies. In addition, it can be seen that various different fields. Most of the research is published
interviews and document reviews were used as well. in Sustainability Switzerland. This was followed by Bioresource
Moreover, it was found that when the data collection tools/ Technology, Environmental Science and Pollution Research and
techniques were considered there was more than one data International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. As a result, the
collection tool/technique in most of the studies. suggestions below are offered.

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 Bukukm, et al.: Eco-frıendly Consumptıon
Environmental problems definitely have a great role to play
in causing the research into eco-friendly consumption to
increase. Increases in environmental pollution, water and
food deficiencies, gradually increasing global warming
problems and health problems caused by these proves the
necessity of eco-friendly consumption behaviour. The
world’s rising consumption levels, especially in developed
countries, means that natural resources are in danger of
complete consumption, which has led to the investigation
of environmental effects and incentives to change our
current consumption behaviour into eco-friendly behaviour
have come into consideration. Therefore, the sustainable
consumption process, which is also a necessity for
sustainable production, must be considered and the eco-
friendly consumption studies must be popularised (Karalar
& Kiracı, 2011).
It is expected that the results from this research will be helpful
for researchers who will investigate eco-friendly consumption in
the future, and this will include educators and young academics
who are just starting to do research. The information about
the research subjects, methods, data analysis, and methods
in the field of eco-friendly consumption will shed light on
the path for new research. Moreover, it is expected that this
content analysis about eco-friendly consumption will lead the
research to new innovations. With the help of the findings
in this research, the current situation regarding eco-friendly
consumption can be clearly seen. Therefore, this research will
help the future researchers to focus on new methods and trends
(Yılmaz, Aydın, & Bahar, 2015).
It is suggested that, in order to detect the current eco-
friendly consumption situation, similar research needs to
be done periodically (for example, in five years), moreover,
these studies should include post-graduate dissertations,
and congress or symposium booklets. Therefore, it will be
possible to continuously evaluate and detect researchers’
future tendencies regarding eco-friendly consumption
(Özbey & Şama 2017).
If the journals before 2013 had been scanned and included
in the paper, the research would have been more developed
and it would have been more beneficial for the process by
providing a broader perspective.
Most quantitative research methods are where the
individual’s opinions, problem situation and data analysis
are more important. In the eco-friendly studies, the
researchers could be enriched by research designs other
than experimental research and scanning designs.
While the used data collection tools could be diversified in
the field of eco-friendly consumption.
International Journal of Scientific Study | October 2017 | Vol 5 | Issue 7
As a result of the analysis, it was found that inferential
analysis, which is a quantitative data analysis method,
and qualitative analysis methods were not used so much.
Therefore, the data collection methods and techniques
could be enhanced in the eco-friendly consumption studies
to include more of these.
The findings could be provided from a wider range of
sample groups in future research. The sample groups,
which were not studied before, such as: educators (teachers,
tutors, academicians) administrators and students other
than university students (primary school, secondary school,
post-graduate students) could be included in any future
research.
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How to cite this article: Bukuk A, Baysen E, Gunduz S, Baysen F, Ozbas S. Artıcles of Eco-Frıendly Consumptıon: A Content Analysıs.
Int J Sci Stud 2017;5(7):53-63.

Source of Support: Nil, Conflict of Interest: None declared.

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