How Do Consumer Awareness, Health Consciousness, and Environmental Concern Drive the Willingness to Buy Hydroponic Vegetables?

Hydroponics has emerged as an innovative system in modern plant cultivation. This study explores the intricate relationship between consumer awareness, health consciousness, and environmental concerns relating to the willingness to buy hydroponic vegetables. Initially, 218 completed surveys were collected; however, after a meticulous review of initial responses especially those related to the consumption or purchase of hydroponic products a refined pool of 208 valid respondents was identified. The study employed a Structural Equation Model (SEM) utilizing SmartPLS 4 software for analysis. The findings reveal that all hypotheses posited were accepted. It was identified that consumer awareness, environmental concern, and health consciousness significantly and positively impact the willingness to buy hydroponic vegetable products. Additionally, the results demonstrate that consumer awareness significantly influences both environmental concern and health consciousness. This research has implications for business practitioners selling hydroponic vegetable products by aiding in understanding and identifying their consumers' needs, particularly those related to health and environmental issues.


Introduction
Hydroponics has emerged as an innovative system in the cultivation of plants in the modern era [1][2][3].The utilized system enables plants to flourish in a nutrient-rich solution, optionally supported by inert media such as gravel, vermiculite, peat, or coconut fiber [4].The term 'hydroponics' originates from the Greek words 'hydro' (water) and 'ponos' (work), introduced by Professor William Gericke in the early 1930s [5,6].This system nurtures plants with roots submerged in mineral-laden water, an approach refined by researchers at Purdue University in 1940 [4].This innovation has led to the establishment of commercial hydroponic farms worldwide, including in Indonesia [7].Within the framework of Indonesian agriculture, hydroponics offers a promising and sustainable alternative for future food production.Against the backdrop of the current global demographic and environmental trajectories, significant transitions are happening in the agricultural domain.Rapid urbanization and the problems caused by climate change highlight the need for adopting sustainable agriculture practices.As urban landscapes evolve and traditional farmland decreases, urban agriculture, specifically hydroponics, emerges as a beacon of hope.The hydroponics industry is anticipated to reach a market value of USD 22.2 billion by 2028 [1], and it provides effective answers to the problems of food insecurity that have been made worse by international calamities like the COVID-19 epidemic.Remarkably, hydroponic systems, which eliminate the need for soil, exhibit significant environmental benefits compared to conventional farming.Due to the system's capacity to reduce resource waste and battle soil deterioration, several advantages can be achieved [2,3].Consumer awareness has increased significantly as individuals become more conscious of their health and the environmental state [8], understanding the close relationship between personal well-being and environmental health [9][10][11].This heightened awareness is driving a shift toward environmentally friendly and sustainable daily practices.With growing environmental concerns, consumers are increasingly interested in products and services that support environmental preservation [12], making it a determining factor in consumers' decision-making processes, especially regarding their willingness to buy.
Health consciousness has also become a primary focus for many [13,14].With an increased emphasis on health, individuals are proactively seeking information related to nutritious diets and healthenhancing activities [15,16].This surge in health awareness is fueling demand for innovative health products and services that not only improve personal health but are also environmentally friendly [17].Currently, there is a notable increase in consumers' willingness to buy, demonstrating a larger trend towards spending money on products and services that benefit both personal health and the environment.This willingness also highlights a consumer trend to pay more for goods that simultaneously promote individual and environmental health.Sustainable food for the future is crucial, needing to balance human health and environmental sustainability, considering the physical, mental, and social well-being of individuals and communities, as well as the integrity of ecosystems from the impact of human activities.Consumer awareness, health consciousness, and environmental concern are crucial factors, especially for consumer behavior and their willingness to buy.
The relationship between consumer awareness, health consciousness, and environmental concern on consumer's willingness to buy hydroponic products has become of utmost relevance in a time when environmental and food system sustainability are major concerns.There is an increasing need to comprehend how these elements interact and affect consumer behavior, particularly in the context of food consumption, as we face the complex issues of the twenty-first century.With its promise of resource-efficient and year-round food production, hydroponic agriculture has become a viable alternative to conventional farming methods.The application of hydroponics in modern farming can make a significant contribution to achieving zero hunger (SDGs 2) by increasing food production, access, and demand.This correlates with increasing food production, efficient use of resources, improving nutritional quality, and food independence good.Health and well-being (SDGs 3) correlate with the ensuring of healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.Responsible consumption and production (SDGs 12), especially in the application of modern agriculture such as the hydroponic concept, is able to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.Climate action (SDGs 13), like applications in modern urban farming such as hydroponics, is at least capable of taking immediate action to combat climate change and its impacts.The application of modern agricultural systems with the hydroponic concept does not directly relate to life on land (SDGs 15).However, the application of modern farming such as hydroponics can help reduce the negative impact of conventional agriculture on land ecosystems and promote more sustainable agriculture.We seek to shed light on how individual decisions in the area of food consumption might translate into concrete contributions to the more general global agenda for sustainable development by looking into the factors that influence people's propensity to purchase hydroponic products.We will explore the complex interplay between consumer awareness, health consciousness, and environmental concern in the sections that follow to comprehend both their individual and combined effects on the acceptance of hydroponic vegetables as a preferred dietary alternative.Through this investigation, we seek to further knowledge of consumer behavior as well as provide policymakers and other industry stakeholders with information that will help them adopt more ecologically friendly and sustainable food consumption habits.We start our trip by analyzing the connection between these elements and how they relate to the SDGs.
Research focusing on key themes commonly used in studies about diet and healthy foods, such as consumer awareness, environmental concern, and health consciousness, is still scarce, especially concerning the willingness to buy hydroponic vegetable products.There is a need for research to understand the consumption of hydroponic vegetable products based on consumer behavior in markets, especially in Indonesia.This study aims to explore the complex relationship between consumer awareness, health consciousness, and environmental concern regarding the willingness to buy hydroponic vegetables.By delving deeper into these crucial factors, we aim to reveal the dynamics driving consumers towards a sustainable future, ensuring the well-being of all living creatures and the preservation of our environment.Understanding this relationship is vital in promoting practices that support human welfare and environmental health within the context of consuming hydroponic vegetables.From the description above, a picture of the framework is formed below:

Methodology
This study employed a quantitative approach from the outset, utilizing purposive sampling for data collection through an online form [37][38][39].The quantitative method was chosen to garner specific data from a targeted group of social media users who offer a diverse perspective.Systematic steps were enacted to filter and select respondents who met the study's stringent criteria.Data from respondents who hastily completed the form in under 3 minutes and those who provided repetitive answers were promptly discarded, ensuring the integrity and reliability of the research data.Utilizing a Likert scale, responses were quantitatively measured, providing a range from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree" to systematically gauge participants' attitudes or opinions.While the study initially gathered 218 completed surveys, a rigorous review of the initial responses, especially those pertaining to the consumption or purchase of hydroponic products, resulted in a refined pool of 208 valid respondents.
This study applied non-probability, purposive sampling for its quick application, despite its limitations, and focused on participants with experience in using or purchasing hydroponic vegetable items.A minimum sample size of 120 was deemed acceptable for analyzing 12 question items, based on general rules and the study's application of SEM-PLS [40].SEM-PLS, selected for its adaptability, ability to handle small sample sizes, multicollinearity issues, and complex models, facilitates the examination of intricate variable interactions, providing detailed insights into correlations between variables for precise results.

Profile Respondents
An in-depth analysis of the demographic characteristics of the 208 survey participants is given in Table 1 below.[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26], highlighting a strong inclination towards hydroponics among the youth.Generation Y individuals (aged 27-42) comprise 32.692%, while Generation X (aged 43-58) is scarcely represented at 0.962%.Participants exhibit a wide spectrum of education: hydroponics attracts a diverse educational audience, as seen by the fact that 35.096% are high school graduates, 24.519% have diplomas, 37.5% hold Bachelor's Degrees, and 2.885% have postgraduate qualifications.Geographically, most participants are based in Jakarta (31.731%), with a substantial number also residing outside Jabodetabek (21.635%).According to employment statistics, the private sector employs the majority (42.308%), followed by students (278.5%) and entrepreneurs (19.231%), which may indicate a rise in hydroponics-related entrepreneurship.According to income data, the majority (54.327%) of people earn less than Rp5,000,000 per month, demonstrating that people of all economic levels are interested in hydroponics and providing a broad demographic base for its growth and support.

Convergent Validity and Reliability
In this study, we conducted outer loading tests to measure the extent to which indicator items can reflect constructs, primarily by measuring outer loading, Cronbach's alpha, AVE, and Fornell-Larcker criteria.2 presents statistical measures for the constructs CAR, EC, HC, and WTB, utilized in a particular study.The "Outer Loadings" column indicates the relationship strength between observed variables and their associated constructs, with values closer to 1 signifying stronger relationships.For instance, CAR has a strong relationship with its observed variables, as evidenced by its outer loading values ranging from 0.841 to 0.873."Cronbach's Alpha" represents the internal consistency of the test items, with higher values (closer to 1) indicating greater reliability; the Cronbach's Alpha for CAR is 0.820, denoting high reliability."AVE", or Average Variance Extracted, assesses the variance captured by a construct versus variance due to measurement error; with CAR's AVE at 0.733, an acceptable amount of variance is extracted, as typically, values above 0.5 are considered adequate.Lastly, the Fornell-Larcker Criterion is a measure used for validating the reliability and validity of the constructs, though the table doesn't provide specific values for CAR.This criteria assists in proving discriminant validity for the other components by comparing the square root of the AVE with correlations among the constructs.

Inner Model
In our final analysis, we conducted path analysis using bootstrapping with 5000 one-tailed subsamples [40] to understand the influence of each pathway in the research model of this study.According to the findings of this investigation, all hypotheses have been accepted.Consumer awareness, environmental concern, and health consciousness are found to have a favorable and significant influence on consumers' willingness to buy hydroponic vegetable products.These findings are consistent with the research conducted by Fahlevi et al [8] and Konuk [27].The results also show 6 that consumer awareness significantly influences environmental concern and health consciousness.Therefore, the model used in this study is considered effective, especially in explaining consumer behavior towards hydroponic vegetables.

Conclusion
This study provides a thorough explanation of the variables influencing Indonesian consumers' willingness to buy of hydroponic products.The findings of this research elucidate the roles of consumer awareness, environmental concern, health consciousness, and how they influence the consumers' willingness-to-buy of hydroponic products in Indonesia.Upon further examination, consumer awareness has been proven to successfully influence environmental concern, health consciousness, and willingness-to-buy.
Furthermore, the findings of this research provide strong evidence that consumer awareness, environmental concern and health consciousness have significant influences on consumers' willingness to buy.Our research has shed light on the complex network of variables that influence consumers' willingness to buy hydroponic products in a world marked by environmental issues and shifting consumer preferences.We have discovered through our research the crucial contributions that consumer awareness, health consciousness, and environmental concern have in influencing sustainable buying decisions.This insight bears substantial consequences not only for individual buying decisions but also for the broader global quest to attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).Our findings demonstrate that the implementation of hydroponic agriculture is consistent with several SDGs, including the elimination of hunger, promotion of health and wellbeing, responsible consumption and production, mitigation of climate change, and utilization of terrestrial ecosystem sustainability.
This work offers significant theoretical and practical insights, but it also has several flaws that may point the way for further studies.First off, this study only looked at Indonesian consumers' willingness to buy hydroponic products; as a result, conclusions do not apply to other countries.Further might look at the variables influencing consumers' willingness-to-buy of hydroponic products in other developing and developed nations, where it is possible to integrate some cultural aspects to explain consumer consumption.Another limitation stems from the study's quantitative nature.Despite quantitative studies can be used to conduct research on a large number of samples, additional research can be done qualitatively by using focus groups or in-depth interviews with consumers to find out other factors that can increase customers' willingness to buy of hydroponics products.Future research must evaluate how manufacturers of healthy foods or hydroponics products market their products in developing countries like Indonesia.Future research can look at how specific demographic parameters, such as age, education level, and income, influence the use of hydroponics goods.

Table 1 .
Demographic Distribution of Survey Participants

Table 1
displays crucial demographic information regarding 208 participants who have either engagement or interest in hydroponic goods and techniques.Females notably dominate the group, making up 66.827%, with males accounting for the remaining 33.173%.A significant portion, 66.346%, are from Generation Z (aged

Table 2 .
Outer Model

Table 3 .
Path Analysis