A Comparative Study of Dietary Related Zero-waste Patterns and Consumer Responses Before and After COVID-19

Abstract

This study uses text mining compares and contrasts consumers’ social media discourses on dietary related zero-waste movement before and after COVID-19. The results indicate that the amount of buzz on social networks for the zero- waste movement has been increasing after COVID-19. Additionally, the results of frequency analysis and topic modeling revealed that subjects associated with zero-waste movement were more diversified after COVID-19. Although the results of a sentiment analysis and word cloud visualization confirmed that consumers’ positive responses toward the zero-waste have been increasing, they also revealed a need to educate and encourage those who are still not aware of the need for zero-waste. Finally, consumers mentioned only a small number of companies participating in zero-waste movement on SNS, indicating that the level of active involvement by such companies is much lower than that of consumers. Theoretical and educational implications as well as those for government policy-making are considered.