Cleaner and Responsible Consumption最新文献

Alternative consumer networks (ACNs) have become increasingly important for promoting sustainable development. This study provides a conceptual clarification of ACNs and systematically reviews their impact on sustainable development. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we identified 218 peer-reviewed references that report on sustainability outcomes of ACNs at different levels, including determinants of motivation, contextual changes, behavioral changes, and social, ecological, and economic impacts. Our findings demonstrate that ACNs have a multifaceted influence on sustainability, highlighting the interconnected nature of various outcomes. This holistic approach captures the broad and significant role ACNs play in advancing sustainable practices across multiple dimensions of sustainability. We synthesized these results into a comprehensive logic model, which serves as a practical tool for systematically assessing the impact of ACNs. This model helps practitioners focusing on relevant outcomes and to develop and implement effective strategies tailored to their specific contexts. Additionally, it provides researchers with a structured framework for further study, facilitating a deeper understanding of the dynamic relationships between different sustainability outcomes.

Despite the fact that domestic rice production contributes significantly to the livelihood of millions of people in Ghana, it has been observed that consumers show a strong preference for expensive and imported rice over locally produced rice. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perception, purchasing behaviour and determinants of local rice consumption across three income households in the Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana. A total of 414 rice consumers were selected through a multi-stage sampling technique. Descriptive and inferential techniques, including perception analysis and ordered probit model, were used to analyse the data. The overall perception index of 3.61 denotes that consumers generally have a positive perception of local rice regarding health benefits (index = 4.44), affordability (index = 3.86), and cooking attributes (index = 3.48), despite its poor appearance (index = 2.80). The ordered probit model depicted heterogeneity of covariates as determinants of local rice consumption-based income strata of the household. For instance, various factors, including gender, age, occupation, and attributes of local rice such as affordability, nutrition, cooking attributes, and appearance, have a notable impact on the consumption of local rice among low-income households. In contrast, education, household decision-making, the place of purchasing local rice, and three perception attributes, namely affordability, nutrition, and cooking attributes, were found to be significant determinants of local rice consumption among middle-income households. According to the data, local rice consumption among high-income families was significantly predicted by gender, occupation, household size, and two perception attributes—affordability and nutrition. The study has practical implications for improving the competitiveness of local rice to increase its acceptance and consumption among consumers in the country.

The fashion industry is deemed to be notoriously unsustainable. Fashion brands and their multiple stakeholders recognize both environmental and social negative externalities that the industry generates. Fashion capitals like London accommodate innovative fashion businesses, which are expected to be sustainability pioneers. This paper evaluates which sustainability practices fashion brands in London accommodate and whether those with profound investments in sustainability achieve superior attractiveness to the customer. The research is based on data collected for 158 fashion brands. The database includes evaluations of environmental and social sustainability provided by the ‘Good on You’ platform and such characteristics as brands' affiliation with high-end design and the number of followers on Instagram as an indicator of their attractiveness to the customer. Analysis of data led to the typology of brands in London. Findings indicate that only one-third of researched businesses seriously place sustainability at the center of their business models. Even these attempts have not led to drastic changes in London's fashion industry outlook. Most successful in terms of sustainability firms are not associated with 'high-end' fashion. Customer appreciation is only sometimes on the side of sustainable firms. Policymakers and practitioners can use the results as a guide for a more critical appraisal of developments in sustainable fashion.

Higher education institutions have a role to play in developing sustainability skills and changing students' attitudes and behaviour towards sustainability issues and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This article aims to explore the knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of higher education students towards sustainability and understand how these vary in line with gender, age, level of education, the field of study and familiarity with the SDGs. A questionnaire survey was carried out among higher education students. A sample of 716 students from different European countries and Türkiye was obtained. The results show that the relationship between students' knowledge of sustainability and their behaviour towards sustainability issues is partly mediated by their attitudes towards sustainability. The practical implications of this study are that it highlights the need to strengthen education on sustainable development and the SDGs in all areas and at all levels of higher education and to provide sound training in this field from the moment students enter higher education. Although knowledge and attitudes towards sustainability are well developed, higher education institutions must train students to change their behaviour.

Consumers are interested in sustainable products but they exhibit wariness about their efficacy resulting in a reluctance to purchase. Consumers perceive a high level functional risk in utilitarian benefits sustainable alternatives can provide. For that reason, communication strategy is essential for the success of new sustainable products. We analytically investigate the optimal pre-launch communication strategy and specifically, explore the role of third party reviews of new sustainable products. Before launching its new sustainable product, a firm can reach out an expert or an influencer to test it and write an honest review which informs consumers about the green product's quality in the traditional performance dimension. The firm cannot interfere with the content of the review, but can affect the degree of its informativeness by its investment level in pre-launch communication. We find that pre-launch communication is always profitable, but the optimal level of informativeness can be short of full revelation depending on the market conditions. Based on our results, we make suggestions to both firms and policy makers, which will help reduce the green attitude-behavior gap. Then, we investigate how the availability of pre-launch communication via third party testing and reviewing affects firms' sustainability strategy decision. Our analysis reveals that, depending on the market characteristics, the presence of pre-launch communication may encourage firms to be bolder in their sustainability initiatives and engage in high environmental impact strategies without concerning to preserve the conventional functional performance, or conversely, make them more risk averse and pursue mediocre environmental impact strategies with strong caution about the conventional functional performance.

The Virtual Special Issue investigates the relationship between social entrepreneurship, creative territories, and responsible consumption. These three fields have grown quickly in the last two decades and have attracted the attention of many researchers. The issue contributes to current research by exploring various aspects of creative territories, responsible business and consumption, and social entrepreneurship. This editorial presents the five articles included in this Special Volume. Two papers are more strongly related to creative territories and sustainable supply chain innovation, while the other three focus on social entrepreneurship and responsible consumption in the footwear, healthcare, and processing industries. Furthermore, pathways for future research are formulated, calling for more dedicated research on the above three areas to create solid theory-building via sophisticated research methods.

Whereas the environmental impact of buying luxury goods is debated, there is evidence that purchasing such products—often referred to as conspicuous consumption—can be more sustainable than hoarding cheaper alternatives because luxury goods are more durable and are often passed down through generations, resulting in fewer resources being consumed by the average consumer. Contrary to popular beliefs that conspicuous consumption is inconsistent with environmental concerns, recent studies demonstrate that conspicuous consumption is sometimes positively associated with proenvironmentalism. However, less is known about the psychological mechanisms responsible for this counterintuitive association. In this research, we propose and find that conspicuous consumption orientation is positively related to proenvironmental consumption values, with this relationship being mediated by consumers' need for uniqueness and variety seeking. The proposed framework was tested and supported by a large-scale cross-sectional survey (N = 1400; 59.9% women), with data analyzed using structural equation modeling. Together, the current findings shed light on the processes that explain the link between conspicuous consumption and proenvironmental purchasing preferences, with the current results suggesting that consumers’ tendency to seek unique and varied options in the marketplace may be used to promote sustainable consumption.

One way to prevent diseases caused by unhealthy diets is to help consumers make better dietary choices. Knowledge about the consumer perception of food healthiness can help to understand which indicators are important for consumers to make healthy food choices.

Generation Z members are young consumers who can influence the market supply in the next few years. To better understand Generation Z's perception of healthy food, sample products from Kellogg's brand were used to conduct focus group discussions in Germany and Ireland. Eight young consumers, aged between 18 and 25 years, participated in each focus group discussion. Both focus group discussions were summarized and analyzed according to Mayring.

Essentially, what emerged was that both focus groups use the same indicators to evaluate the health value of a product. The indicators included the ingredient list, nutritional value table, packaging design, and additional information on the package. Noticeable differences in the subtopics were that young German consumers discussed the ingredient list in general and discussed the understanding and order of ingredients, whereas young Irish consumers discussed specific ingredients in more detail. In addition, German participants perceived the colours green, blue, and purple of product packaging as indicators of product healthiness, whereas Irish participants generally perceived darker colours as indicators. German participants generally perceived the ingredients of a product as the most important indicator, whereas Irish participants also considered the nutritional value information to be very important. Furthermore, a variety of foods was generally important in the German focus group, and origin and price were indicators in the Irish focus group. The study also shows that Generation Z consumers in Germany and Ireland are uncertain when evaluating a product, and thus, better consumer education is desired to improve the level of knowledge.

Sustainability has become a critical concern for many destinations seeking to revitalize their tourism industry while also dealing with issues stemming from climate change. To address these challenges, practical strategies to manage the harmful effects of the environmental crisis are necessary. Despite the critical role of sustainability, there still needs to be more practical solutions for implementing it in practice. The article aims to (i) broaden the discussion on sustainable tourism and solutions to reduce the impacts of climate change, and (ii) to understand the relationships of affinities between pro-environmental initiatives and the characteristics of the destination based on the perceptions of tourists who visit the city of Ljubljana. This study analyses tourist perception in an urban destination focusing on reducing carbon footprint and promoting sustainable development. Through a case study and the application of Affinities Theory, a specific algorithm to recognise affinity connections, a database with 372 international tourists who visited Ljubljana is utilised. This study has an explanatory goal and uses a comprehensive method (quantitative-qualitative). The findings confirmed that the characteristics of the destination most relevant to the tourist are Sustainable, Environmentally Friendly, and Safe. The research acknowledged practical approaches to improve the competitiveness and sustainability of tourism. The results could assist managers and policymakers in formulating sustainability-based strategies and reducing decision-making uncertainty. Also, it deepens the theoretical understanding of sustainable tourism and climate change mitigation strategies using a modelling and simulation method that other researchers can replicate in different contexts. This innovative research employs the Affinities Theory to assess Ljubljana's urban sustainability, examining how environmental practices can help reduce climate change's impact and how tourists perceive these practices.