Science & Tech · Science & Environment · 21 hrs ago
Study finds more green claims can reduce some shoppers’ interest
A study led by Keio University professor Miyuri Shirai found that ads promoting two green features did not appeal to everyone.
Across three experiments involving 1,729 people in Japan, participants rated ads for made-up products rather than buying them.
The ads highlighted eco-friendly ingredients, sustainable packaging, or both.
Shoppers who cared more about buying green rated ads with both features higher, while those who cared less preferred ads focused on one.
Making products greener in both ways can cost more and complicate production, so companies may not gain from promoting every green feature at once.
The findings suggest that the best message may depend on how much shoppers value environmental purchases.
A study found that mentioning both eco-friendly ingredients and sustainable packaging can make a product less appealing to shoppers who care less about buying green.
Shoppers with stronger green consumption values rated products higher when ads mentioned both benefits.
The findings came from three experiments involving 1,729 people in Japan who rated ads for made-up products.
The study suggests that adding more sustainability claims does not always make an ad more persuasive.
- Who
- Miyuri Shirai, a professor at Keio University, conducted the study with participants in Japan.
- What
- The study found that ads mentioning two sustainability benefits appealed more to shoppers who care a lot about buying green, while ads mentioning one appealed more to those who care less.
- When
- Not stated
- Where
- Japan; the research was conducted at Keio University.
- Why
- Shirai investigated whether communicating multiple sustainability benefits could be less effective than highlighting one, depending on the consumer.
Shoppers with stronger green consumption values
Shoppers with weaker green consumption values
Ad claims
Shoppers with stronger green consumption values
Rated a product higher when the ad mentioned both eco-friendly ingredients and sustainable packaging.
Shoppers with weaker green consumption values
Rated a product higher when the ad mentioned only one of those benefits.
Daniel Kahneman and Jack Knetsch studied how much people were willing to pay for environmental services and found that people tended to value something less when it was part of a bigger package.
Earth.com published an article describing Shirai’s study and its findings.
- Study participants
- 1,729 people in Japan
- Experiments
- Three
- Researcher
- Miyuri Shirai, professor at Keio University
- First experiment product
- Laundry detergent
- First experiment recruits
- 750; 626 remained after 124 failed a check for careless answers
- Second experiment product
- Organic granola
1 source
What people are saying
My interest in this research began when I read articles about the embedding effect, which suggest that adding more positive information does not always make an option seem better
I became curious about whether communicating multiple sustainability benefits might sometimes be less effective than highlighting just one, depending on the consumer