Page 541 - Ebook HTKH 2024

growth in the number of stores offering healthy products. In the first half of the year
2024, the increase rate of stores offering healthy products was 15% compared to the

same period of the year 2023. In fact, customers' demand for environmentally friendly
products is still not high as their prices remain the leading factor.
Although green consumption brings many benefits to consumers and the living
environment, it is still facing several difficulties and challenges despite growing
awareness and efforts towards sustainability, specifically as follows:
The first and biggest challenge is changing consumer behavior. Green
consumption is a fairly new concept and relatively unfamiliar to the majority of
consumers as well as production and supply units of goods and services in Vietnam, so

awareness of environmental protection and use of environmentally friendly products is
still limited. Traditional consumption habits and social norms can also play a role in
slowing down the shift towards green consumption. This is a huge obstacle when
implementing solutions and applying regulations into practice, because habits are the
hardest thing to change. Vietnamese consumers are used to products and goods that are
convenient, economical, can be used for a long time and many times like plastic bags

for storing food. Plastic bottles to hold drinks instead of products with similar uses such
as leaves, paper, bamboo, wood products...
Vietnamese consumers currently have paid a certain attention to environmentally
friendly products, but the demand for using these products is not too great. In addition,
price is still the leading dominant factor, with the price of finished products using
environmentally friendly materials currently differing by up to 30% compared to
conventional packaging, which will be a major barrier to change behavior and

responding to consumer needs. The consumer is the decisive factor, both the beneficiary
and the driving force, the goal for other subjects to aim for.
The second challenge is the sense of responsibility for environmental protection
issues on the part of businesses still limited. Currently, many businesses have not
adequately resolved the conflict between profit goals and green growth, especially for
small and medium-sized enterprises. Besides, although green technology is very

developed in the world, it is not easily applied in Vietnam. The lack of advanced
infrastructure and technology for sustainable production and waste management can
impede green consumption efforts. Enterprises can be transferred to advanced and
modern technology, but human factors and capacity levels have not kept up. The
investment and large initial costs have greatly impacted access to green technology. The
number of businesses proactively investing and innovating production models towards
modernity still faces many difficulties in mobilizing resources and choosing appropriate
technology. The inspection of green goods, clean goods, and goods that meet

certification standards for businesses is often not done seriously. Counterfeit goods and
poor-quality goods are still circulating in the market, reducing consumer confidence.
Besides, the biggest difficulty of businesses, especially small and medium-sized
enterprises, in producing green products is the conflict between two goals: Profit and
growth. Because most are small and medium enterprises, the initial

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