Influences of Product Environmental Information on Consumers’ Purchase Choices: Product Categories Perspective

Xintian Wang (), Meng Peng, Yan Li, Huifang Tian, Muhua Ren, Tao Ma () and Jiayu Xu
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Xintian Wang: School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Meng Peng: China Center for Information Industry Development, Beijing 100048, China
Yan Li: School of Ecology and Environment, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China
Huifang Tian: School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Muhua Ren: School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Tao Ma: China Center for Information Industry Development, Beijing 100048, China
Jiayu Xu: School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 15, 1-15

Abstract: Although product environmental information serves as an effective tool for promoting green consumption which is a critical lever for advancing broader sustainability goals, its varied impacts across product categories (durable goods vs. fast-moving consumer goods) and the underlying mechanisms remain unexplored. Grounded in the theory of consumption values (TCV), this study investigated the heterogeneous effects and mediating pathways of such information through a comparative analysis of representative products: organic milk (fast-moving consumer goods, FMCGs) and energy-efficient air conditioners (durable goods). The results show the following: (1) epistemic value, which exhibits the strongest association with product environmental information, demonstrates significantly different influence patterns between purchases of green durable goods and green FMCGs across both online and offline channels; (2) in the e-commerce context, green FMCG consumption is mainly driven by product environmental information through the mediating effect of conditional value. For green durable goods, product environmental information influences green consumption through multiple pathways including functional value, conditional value, and epistemic value. This study extends the classic theory of consumption values, and the results suggest that differentiated information strategies of emphasizing conditional value for FMCGs and integrating multi-dimensional values for durables can optimize green consumption promotion. Such strategies hold substantial potential to strengthen the green development of the omnichannel retailing sector, reinforcing its contribution to reaching sustainability objectives.

Keywords: green consumption; product environmental information; theory of consumption values; durable goods; FMCGs (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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