Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
7107418 | Sustainable Production and Consumption | 2018 | 13 Pages |
Abstract
Currently only few products are made of bio-based plastic instead of conventional plastic, whose production and use is causing many environmental problems. Bio-based product alternatives could have a positive impact in consumer sectors relating to nature, such as the outdoor sporting equipment sector. For this reason, consumers' interest in bio-based sports equipment, their product preferences and the factors which influence their interest were analyzed. Using choice-based-conjoint experiments and latent class analysis, consumer groups who are interested in these products could be differentiated from those who are less or not interested. Respondents with interest in bio-based sports equipment prefer a high bio-based plastic content, a large reduction in potential CO2-emissions and the use of regionally grown raw materials. Respondents with less interest in bio-based plastic products prefer low-priced products made of conventional plastic. To enable a more precise differentiation between these consumer groups, a discriminant analysis was also conducted. Above all, personal attitudes such as environmental awareness and nature relatedness differentiated the interest groups. With regard to Short-Schwartz-Values, only universalism and benevolence sufficiently differentiated between the interested and less interested respondents. Considering environmentally friendly behavior in other areas, interest in bio-based plastic seems to correlate with preference for organic food. Socio-demographic data did not explain the differences between the two interest groups. Finally, respondents who were interested in bio-based products had more positive expectations and stricter requirements regarding the cultivation of raw materials.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Process Chemistry and Technology
Authors
Christoph Scherer, Agnes Emberger-Klein, Klaus Menrad,