Preprint Article Version 2 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

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

Version 1 : Received: 8 December 2020 / Approved: 9 December 2020 / Online: 9 December 2020 (14:35:13 CET)
Version 2 : Received: 24 March 2021 / Approved: 24 March 2021 / Online: 24 March 2021 (16:54:11 CET)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Zwicker, M. V., Brick, C., Gruter, G.-J. M., & van Harreveld, F. (2021). (Not) Doing the Right Things for the Wrong Reasons: An Investigation of Consumer Attitudes, Perceptions, and Willingness to Pay for Bio-Based Plastics. Sustainability, 13(12), 6819. doi:10.3390/su13126819 Zwicker, M. V., Brick, C., Gruter, G.-J. M., & van Harreveld, F. (2021). (Not) Doing the Right Things for the Wrong Reasons: An Investigation of Consumer Attitudes, Perceptions, and Willingness to Pay for Bio-Based Plastics. Sustainability, 13(12), 6819. doi:10.3390/su13126819

Abstract

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.

Keywords

plastic; bio-based plastic; willingness to pay; attitudes; recycling

Subject

Social Sciences, Psychology

Comments (1)

Comment 1
Received: 24 March 2021
Commenter: Maria Zwicker
Commenter's Conflict of Interests: Author
Comment: We made some structural changes to the manuscript, most notably reducing the number of subheadings. We also put more emphasise of the reasons for and contribution of this research and more clearly stated its aims and hypotheses.
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