Consumer attitudes and willingness to pay for novel bio-based products using hypothetical bottle choice

Fossil-based plastic contributes to environmental pollution through carbon dioxide emissions during production and lifecycle. Bio-based plastic from renewable biomass retains functionality and can have a lower carbon foot-print. Any large-scale investment in bio-based plastic by the industry requires knowing that consumers are will-ing to purchase these products and learning how best to market them. This online study (N = 529) investigated psychological factors influencing preferences for three types of plastic bottles: a conventional fossil-based bottle (PET plastic), a visually identical bio-based bottle (PEF plastic), and a visually distinct bio-based bottle with a paper outer layer (paper PEF). The key outcomes were attitudes and willingness to pay. We also tested whether consumers' choices being visible to valued others affected these judgments. Participants reported positive atti-tudes towards bio-based plastic, were willing to pay more for it, and, irrespective of being observed, overwhelm-ingly preferred the bio-based bottles (96.8 %). We discuss how these findings may be applied by the industry to increase the uptake of bio-based plastic and other sustainable consumer alternatives.(c) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Institution of Chemical Engineers. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Automated summary

Fossil-based plastic contributes to environmental pollution, while bio-based plastic made from renewable biomass has lower carbon footprint and is preferred by consumers. This study found that participants had positive attitudes towards bio-based plastic, were willing to pay more for it, and overwhelmingly preferred bio-based bottles. These findings are important for the industry to promote bio-based plastic and other sustainable consumer alternatives.