In the survey, more than 63% of consumers were aware of green products and of those, 85% had confidence that they were better for the environment.

Overall, 67% of Indian consumers said they were likely to buy products that offer environmental benefits, and this rose to 69% among those aged 30 years old and younger.

Indians’ confidence that green products are better for the environment is higher than among people in Canada, US and China — all of whom have been surveyed in previous DuPont studies. In China it was 70%, Canada 65% and in the United States 60%.

However, Canada ( 78%) and the United States ( 76%) lead in overall familiarity with green products over India ( 63%) and China ( 43%).

Vikram Prabhu, regional business director, Asia Pacific, DuPont Industrial Bioscience said: “Green and bio-based solutions are not only essential to address the challenges of India’s growing population, but also an expectation of a younger generation and rising middle class. We are particularly encouraged that there is broad awareness of green products across the country with India’s younger generation leading the way.”

The research took place in 12 major Indian cities — New Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmadabad, Pune, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Patna and Kochi — with 1,270 respondents giving face-to-face interviews.