An Eco-Label Can Matter More Than Buying Green: An Experiment on Consumers' Recycling Behaviour After Tasting Eco-Labeled Coffee

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to test whether a coffee package bearing a Rainforest Alliance Certified (RAC) label triggered affective responses favoring the coffee and further influenced the pro-environmental behaviour of participant consumers in convenience stores. One group of customers viewed an RAC-labeled package and tasted the coffee while the other group viewed a non-labeled package and tasted the coffee. Both groups filled out a questionnaire collecting Likert-type scale data on their affective responses to, perceived flavors of, and willingness to pay for the coffee during the tasting and viewing. Whether they disposed of the paper cup for the trial taste in a recycling box or a trash box was observed. A logit model was employed to estimate the probabilities of their recycling the cup over discarding the cup. Results revealed that more positive feelings were expressed and recycling behaviour was increased among customers exposed to the package with an RAC label, although the two groups did not differ significantly in their perceived flavors and willingness to pay. It was estimated that the probability of the RAC-labeled group to recycle the paper cup was 2.89 times higher than that of the non-labeled group. Based on the theory of central and peripheral routes of information processing, the mechanisms of the behavioural influence of the label are discussed with a few possible factors such as involvement and self-identity. This study contributes to the advancement of eco-label research by shifting the focus to the non-purchasing behavioral effects of eco-labels on consumers and observing the behaviors in real, rather than laboratory, settings. It might also inform the promotion of sustainable consumption of the merits of employing experiential marketing.