The effects of green nudges on consumer valuation of bio-based plastic packaging

Joana Wensing, Vincenzina Caputo, Laura Carraresi and Stefanie Bröring

Ecological Economics, 2020, vol. 178, issue C

Abstract: Plastic packaging is widely associated with negative environmental consequences, which is why the food industry is increasingly interested in pro-environmental packaging alternatives- such as bio-based plastic. As the market share for bio-based plastic packaging is still small, strategies to raise consumer awareness and willingness to pay (WTP) are needed. This study integrates insights from environmental psychology and behavioral economics into choice models to assess which green nudges are most effective to increase consumer WTP for bio-based packaging. We tested a total of four strategies by providing consumers with nature pictures, reflection questions, information on bio-based plastics and normative information. Using a sample of 1019 German consumers, our results indicate that the strongest effects are generated when the nudging strategy matches the characteristic of consumers' cognitive style. For example, providing nature pictures only seems to increase WTP for bio-based packaging when consumers base their decision on their emotions and intuition. On the other hand, the strategies that provide normative information and activate the reflection about environmental consequences of plastics are most effective for consumers who enjoy cognitive deliberation.

Keywords: Bio-based packaging; Bioeconomy; Choice experiment; Pro-environmental behavior; Green nudge; Values; Beliefs; Ecological worldview; Social norms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800919318014
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
Working Paper: The effects of green nudges on consumer valuation of bio-based plastic packaging (2020)
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:eee:ecolec:v:178:y:2020:i:c:s0921800919318014

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2020.106783

Access Statistics for this article

Ecological Economics is currently edited by C. J. Cleveland

More articles in Ecological Economics from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().