Driving a Circular Economy: Nudging and Innovative Strategies for Promoting Post-Consumer Recycled Plastic Home-Appliances

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Abstract

The various social and ecological crises of our time are leading to ever louder calls for a sustainable transition towards a sustainable circular economy. As a result, the recycling of plastics is increasingly being brought to the foreground and the increased use of post-consumer recyclate (PCR) is being called for. However, the acceptance of products made from PCR plastic and how this can be increased is still largely unclear. This study uses a light switch to investigate the purchase intention and willingness to pay for household appliances made of (supposed) PCR plastic and how this can be increased with the help of nudges and guideline-based cues. In addition, the influence of a sustainability attitude is examined. An experimental study using a single-factor between-subjects study design (n = 90) with six different cues has been conducted. A light switch made of (supposed) PCR plastic was used as a stimulus. The study results indicate that the purchase intention for PCR-based household appliances can be significantly increased using specific informational cues. Of the five cues tested, only one (innovation) did not lead to a significant increase in purchase intention when compared to the baseline cue. Contrary, none of the five cues led to a significant increase in willingness to pay when compared to the baseline cue. No significant moderating effect of sustainability attitude was found in either case. Possible explanations for these results are the attitude-behavior-intention gap and the influence of perceived aesthetics.

Details

Original languageEnglish
JournalCircular Economy and Sustainability
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 23 Dec 2024
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

ORCID /0000-0003-0937-1927/work/176339165
ORCID /0000-0003-3100-551X/work/176342658
ORCID /0009-0006-8240-0922/work/176343574
ORCID /0009-0000-4340-9154/work/176344415

Keywords

Keywords

  • Consumer intentions, Design for sustainable behavior, Green nudging, Post-consumer recycled plastics, Sustainable attitude