Indicators of Consumers’ Preferences for Bio-Based Apparel: A German Case Study with a Functional Rain Jacket Made of Bioplastic

Abstract

Plastic pollution is an increasing global problem, however, replacing fossil resources with bioplastics made from renewable resources could be part of the solution. Currently, no research analyzing the influencing factors for consumers’ preferences for functional apparel made of bioplastic material could be found. To close this gap in research, we conducted this study with a sample of 1673 participants that were representative of the German population aged 16 years and above. We conducted a choice based conjoint analysis for a bio-based rain jacket and measured psychographic indicators that were used as covariates in the statistical estimation of participants’ preferences for the rain jacket. Our results show the high level of importance of prior product experience, Green Consumer Values and attitude towards bioplastic for selecting bio-based apparel, and thus give first insights related to the influence of psychographic characteristics of consumers when selecting bio-based apparel.

Consumer Preferences in Germany for Bio-Based Apparel With Low and Moderate Prices, and the Influence of Specific Factors in Distinguishing Between These Groups

“…In addition, Scherer et al (2017) noted that ecologically sensitive consumers are more innovative than consumers of conventional plastic. Klein et al (2020) showed that more innovative consumers are more in favor of biobased products. Therefore, an individual's interest in innovation seems to have a positive impact on their decision to purchase eco-friendly apparel.…”

“…Blesin et al (2017) showed that past product experience leads to a greater purchase intention for bio-based products. Additionally, Klein et al (2019Klein et al ( , 2020 showed that previous product experiences increase the probability of purchasing bio-based products. Therefore, previous consumer behavior is expected to affect consumers' acceptance of moderate prices for bio-based apparel.…”

“…Frontiers in Sustainability | www.frontiersin.org The same sample was used in the studies of Klein et al (2019Klein et al ( , 2020 but with different study objectives and methods.…”

“…At the beginning of the estimation process, the utility values for each segment were determined randomly. Afterwards, the data from each respondent was compared with the utility values of each segment and the probabilities of each respondent The CBC setting was also used in the study of Klein et al (2020) but with different study objectives and analyzing methods.…”

“…So far, the market share of bio-based plastics in the textile sector is comparatively low, as the associated manufacturing industries are still in their development phase (Šajn, 2019). Up until now, there have only been few studies looking into consumer decisions, behavior and intentions regarding the consumption of green apparel or bio-based products (Hustvedt and Bernard, 2008;Hustvedt and Dickson, 2009;Niinimäki, 2010;Koszewska, 2013;Austgulen, 2016;Nam et al, 2017;Scherer et al, 2017Scherer et al, , 2018aKlein et al, 2019Klein et al, , 2020, even though consumer preferences and choices are an essential factor when it comes to developing innovative and sustainable products (Austgulen, 2016). Brand and Rausch (2020) found that very green consumers tended to prefer the influence of sustainabilityrelated attributes, such as materials, labels or country of origin, while price was by far the most influential driver for less green consumers when choosing bio-based outdoor apparel.…”