Promoting menstrual cups as a sustainable alternative: a comparative study using a labeled discrete choice experiment

Sitadhira Prima Citta, Takuro Uehara (), Mateo Cordier, Takahiro Tsuge and Misuzu Asari
Additional contact information
Sitadhira Prima Citta: Ritsumeikan University
Takuro Uehara: Ritsumeikan University
Takahiro Tsuge: Kanagawa University
Misuzu Asari: Kyoto University

Post-Print from HAL

Abstract: Plastic pollution is a global issue that endangers both human health and the ecosystem. Although interest in sustainable alternatives to single-use plastics has grown, their adoption has been insufficient, and menstrual products are no exception. Disposable menstrual products, such as sanitary napkins, continue to dominate over sustainable options like menstrual cups (MCs). Although studies on women's perceptions and attitudes toward menstrual hygiene management have abounded, there is a lack of research on the development of promotional strategies for sustainable menstrual products. This study aims to fill this research gap by investigating consumers' decision-making process in the face of a real-life option regarding menstruation products. In this comparative study, we conducted a labeled discrete choice experiment on consumers in Japan ( n = 1,929), Indonesia ( n = 2,031), and France ( n = 2,067) to reveal their preferences for sanitary napkins, tampons, and MCs. The respondents from each country were divided into three groups (one control group and two treatment groups with information provided). The results showed that in all countries, the information regarding the cost-effectiveness of MCs (i.e., per-use cost) was unequivocally significant, whereas information about their health and environmental benefits was not. Access to free MCs can contribute to their adoption and alleviation of period poverty in all countries, with a relatively moderate acceptance in Japan. The results also showed variations across countries in consumer characteristics (attitude toward menstruation, innovation-friendliness, and green consumption) and the use and perceptions of MCs. Hence, tailored promotional strategies should be considered for each market.

Keywords: Plastic; Menstrual cup; consumer; discrete choice experiment; period poverty; sanitary napkin; Tampon (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dcm, nep-env, nep-exp and nep-sea
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-04625228v1
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Published in Frontiers in Sustainability, 2024, 5, pp.1391491. ⟨10.3389/frsus.2024.1391491⟩

Downloads: (external link)
https://hal.science/hal-04625228v1/document (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04625228

DOI: 10.3389/frsus.2024.1391491

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Post-Print from HAL
Bibliographic data for series maintained by CCSD ().