PAPER making! FROM THE PUBLISHERS OF PAPER TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL ® FROM THE PUBLISHERS OF PAPER TE Volume 9, Number 1, 2023
The price of sustainability: How consumers trade-off conventional packaging benefits against sustainability GIULIA GRANATO, ARNOUT R.H. FISCHER & HANS C.M. VAN TRIJP. Sustainable food packaging alternatives represent an ever- expanding trend on supermarkets’ shelves. Despite the technological efforts, a higher sustainability level often comes at the expense of other (perceived) benefits which consumers might not want to sacrifice. While the balance between the benefits and drawbacks of “cleaner” packaging production is central to the designers’ perspective, it is generally overlooked in consumer research. This paper investigates how European consumers cope with product- packaging decisions, when these involve a compromise. Through an online survey with 5035 consumers in five different European countries, our results show that the sustainability appreciation can spill-over to other conventional benefits, such convenience, aesthetic quality or the perceived ability of the packaging to preserve the content. By contributing to sustainability literature and, in particular, to the understanding of the halo and spill-over effect of sustainability, this study shows that positive associations triggered by eco-design elements (e.g., a biodegradable and compostable material) absorb and filter out negative experiences, preventing consumers from perceiving certain drawbacks. This research also provides valuable practical implications to marketers and product designers, by demonstrating how different product categories, packaging types and consumer characteristics, in terms of gender, age, nationality, values and lifestyle, influence product-packaging decisions and their inherent trade-offs. Contact information: Marketing and Consumer Behaviour Group, Wageningen University and Research, Hollandseweg 1, 6706, KN, Wageningen, the Netherlands Journal of Cleaner Production 365 (2022) 132739 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.132739 Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
The Paper Industry Technical Association (PITA) is an independent organisation which operates for the general benefit of its members – both individual and corporate – dedicated to promoting and improving the technical and scientific knowledge of those working in the UK pulp and paper industry. Formed in 1960, it serves the Industry, both manufacturers and suppliers, by providing a forum for members to meet and network; it organises visits, conferences and training seminars that cover all aspects of papermaking science. It also publishes the prestigious journal Paper Technology International ® and the PITA Annual Review , both sent free to members, and a range of other technical publications which include conference proceedings and the acclaimed Essential Guide to Aqueous Coating .
Article 6 – Packaging – Price of Sustainability
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