scholarly journals (Not) Doing the Right Things for the Wrong Reasons: An Investigation of Consumer Attitudes, Perceptions, and Willingness to Pay for Bio-Based Plastics

Author(s):  
Maria V. Zwicker ◽  
Cameron Brick ◽  
Gert-Jan M. Gruter ◽  
Frenk van Harreveld

Fossil-based plastics are significant contributors to global warming through CO2 emissions. For more sustainable alternatives to be successful, it is important to ensure that consumers become aware of the benefits of innovations such as bio-based plastics, in order to create demand and a willingness to initially pay more. In four studies, we investigated participants’ attitudes towards fossil-based and bio-based plastic, their perceived importance of recycling both types of plastic, their willingness to pay, and their perceptions of bio-based plastic. The pre-registered fourth study experimentally manipulated information about bio-based plastic and measured willingness to pay for different types of plastic. The results suggest participants hold very favourable attitudes and are willing to pay more for bio-based products. However, they also harbour misconceptions, especially overestimating bio-based plastic’s biodegradability, and they find it less important to recycle bio-based than fossil-based plastic. Study 4 provided evidence that educating consumers about the properties of bio-based plastic can dispel misconceptions, retain a favourable attitude and a high willingness to pay. We found mixed evidence for the effect of attitudes on willingness to pay. We discuss how attitudes and misconceptions affect the uptake of new sustainable technologies such as bio-based plastics and consumers’ willingness to purchase them.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6819
Author(s):  
Maria V. Zwicker ◽  
Cameron Brick ◽  
Gert-Jan M. Gruter ◽  
Frenk van Harreveld

Fossil-based plastics are significant contributors to global warming through CO2 emissions. For more sustainable alternatives to be successful, it is important to ensure that consumers become aware of the benefits of innovations such as bio-based plastics, in order to create demand and a willingness to initially pay more. Given that consumer attitudes and (inaccurate) beliefs can influence the uptake of such new technologies, we investigated participants’ attitudes towards fossil-based and bio-based plastic, their perceived importance of recycling both types of plastic, their willingness to pay, and their perceptions of bio-based plastic in four studies (total N = 961). The pre-registered fourth study experimentally manipulated information about bio-based plastic and measured willingness to pay for different types of plastic. The results suggest participants hold very favourable attitudes and are willing to pay more for bio-based products. However, they also harbour misconceptions, especially overestimating bio-based plastic’s biodegradability, and they find it less important to recycle bio-based than fossil-based plastic. Study 4 provided evidence that educating consumers about the properties of bio-based plastic can dispel misconceptions and retain a favourable attitude and a high willingness to pay. We found mixed evidence for the effect of attitudes on willingness to pay, suggesting other psychological factors may also play a role. We discuss how attitudes and misconceptions affect the uptake of new sustainable technologies such as bio-based plastics and consumers’ willingness to purchase them.


Author(s):  
Maria V. Zwicker ◽  
Cameron Brick ◽  
Gert-Jan M. Gruter ◽  
Frenk van Harreveld

Fossil-based plastics are significant contributors to global warming through CO2 emissions. For more sustainable alternatives to be successful, it is important to ensure that consumers become aware of the benefits of innovations such as bio-based plastics, in order to create demand and a willingness to initially pay more. Given that consumer attitudes and (inaccurate) beliefs can influence the uptake such new technologies, we investigated participants’ attitudes towards fossil-based and bio-based plastic, their perceived importance of recycling both types of plastic, their willingness to pay, and their perceptions of bio-based plastic in four studies (total N = 961). The pre-registered fourth study experimentally manipulated information about bio-based plastic and measured willingness to pay for different types of plastic. The results suggest participants hold very favourable attitudes and are willing to pay more for bio-based products. However, they also harbour misconceptions, especially overestimating bio-based plastic’s biodegradability, and they find it less important to recycle bio-based than fossil-based plastic. Study 4 provided evidence that educating consumers about the properties of bio-based plastic can dispel misconceptions, retain a favourable attitude and a high willingness to pay. We found mixed evidence for the effect of attitudes on willingness to pay, suggesting other psychological factors may also play a role. We discuss how attitudes and misconceptions affect the uptake of new sustainable technologies such as bio-based plastics and consumers’ willingness to purchase them.


2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 432-439
Author(s):  
Melville Saayman ◽  
Waldo Krugell ◽  
Andrea Saayman

The Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour is a major event on the road cycling calendar. The majority of cyclists travel significant distances and participation produces a substantial carbon footprint. This paper examines participants’ willingness to pay to offset their carbon footprint. The purpose of this paper is to make a contribution to the literature by linking willingness to pay to attitudes towards or beliefs (green views) about the initiatives in place, to ensure a greener cycle tour. Factor analysis is used to identify different types of cyclists, based on their green views: those with green money, those who prefer green products and the “re-cyclers”. The results of the regression analysis reveal that socio-demographic variables and the right attitude towards the environment are significant predictors of stated willingness to pay for climate change mitigation.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 76
Author(s):  
Morio Kuninori ◽  
Masayuki Otaki

This study attentively examines the role of the offset mechanism like the Clean Develop Mechanism (CDM) in mitigating global warming problems and considers its economic welfare implications in a theoretical offset environment. The CDM is a kind of offset trading scheme of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions between advanced and developing economies. Formulating the essence of the offset market into a simple model, we interpret the right to trade CO2 emissions at an ideal price as rewards to advanced economies for investing in more CO2 saving technologies and/or factories in developing economies. Our model shows that under some conditions the CDM can succeed in suppressing CO2 emissions and become a second-best measure to mitigate global warming. Nevertheless, we also clarify that the prices of carbon offset in advanced economies are not generally sustainable without the help of the outside agencies such as the governments. This fact suggests that offset mechanism like the CDM incurs an additional burden, such as taxes to advanced economies for preserving the scheme, although the resultant transfer evidently equalizes the international income distribution.


Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 311
Author(s):  
Anna Granath Hansson ◽  
Peter Ekbäck ◽  
Jenny Paulsson

This paper aims to elucidate the sliding scale between usufruct and ownership by applying a property rights framework to three Swedish forms of tenure in multifamily housing. The framework deconstructs the bundles of rights of rental, tenant-ownership and ownership to highlight commonalities and differences connected to the right to use and exclude, the right to transfer and the right to the value. It is concluded that the three tenure forms have many traits in common but that there are distinct differences in some areas, most notably in connection to the right to the value. The property rights framework applied in the study may be applicable also on a general level as a method to analyze and compare tenures of different types in different countries. Further, ways to improve the framework and cover more facets of outcomes of property rights patterns are suggested.


2021 ◽  
Vol 194 ◽  
pp. 110711
Author(s):  
Liuying Pang ◽  
Fupeng Song ◽  
Xiliang Song ◽  
Xinsong Guo ◽  
Yanyan Lu ◽  
...  

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 572
Author(s):  
Daisuke Narumi ◽  
Ronnen Levinson ◽  
Yoshiyuki Shimoda

Urban air temperature rises induced by the urban heat island (UHIE) effect or by global warming (GW) can be beneficial in winter but detrimental in summer. The SCIENCE-Outdoor model was used to simulate changes to sensible heat release and CO2 emissions from buildings yielded by four UHIE countermeasures and five GW countermeasures. This model can evaluate the thermal condition of building envelope surfaces, both inside and outside. The results showed that water-consuming UHIE countermeasures such as evaporative space cooling and roof water showering provided positive effects (decreasing sensible heat release and CO2 emissions related to space conditioning) in summer. Additionally, they had no negative (unwanted cooling) effects in winter since they can be turned off in the heating season. Roof greening can provide the greatest space- conditioning CO2 emissions reductions among four UHIE countermeasures, and it reduces the amount of heat release slightly in the heating season. Since the effect on reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by UHIE countermeasures is not very significant, it is desirable to introduce GW countermeasures in order to reduce CO2 emissions. The significance of this study is that it constructed the new simulation model SCIENCE-Outdoor and applied it to show the influence of countermeasures upon both heat release and CO2 emissions.


2014 ◽  
Vol 96 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominik Perler

Abstract:According to Spinoza, there is no categorical distinction between human and non-human animals: they all belong to the same nature and all consist of bodies with corresponding ideas. This thesis gives rise to two problems. How is it possible to distinguish different types of animals, in particular nonrational and rational ones, if all of them have the same metaphysical structure? And why does Spinoza nevertheless claim that human beings have a privileged status that gives them the right to use non-rational animals? This paper examines these two problems, arguing that the solution to both of them lies in Spinoza’s all-embracing naturalism.


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