Consumer preferences and understanding of bio-based and biodegradable plastics

Abstract

Consumer acceptance of bioplastics is a sine qua non for transitioning to a bioeconomy. This necessitates the elucidation of consumer preferences and perceptions of bioplastics and effective education on bioplastics to facilitate informed choices. However, these factors have not been studied sufficiently. Therefore, we conducted a discrete choice experiment and text mining among 12,000 Japanese consumers for three products using a treatment-control design, where the respondents in the treatment group learned the basic distinctions between bio-based and biodegradable plastics. Our study revealed the complexity of their preferences; bioplastics were not unconditionally preferred, and perceptions and values played a critical role in this stance. Knowledge tests and co-occurrence network analyses confirmed the limited comprehension of bioplastics among respondents. Their preferences had certain differences and similarities with those reported in previous European studies. For example, contrary to European consumers, most respondents in this study did not favor the use of biomass. They preferred sugar cane over other feedstocks, indicating that environmental concerns were undervalued. Both Japanese and European consumers preferred domestic bioplastics but for different reasons. Our study provides Japanese industries and governments a reference for currently acceptable and promising types of bioplastics (e.g., those with increased CO2 emission reduction) for development. Simultaneously, these institutions can convince Japanese consumers to prefer other types (e.g., those with more inclusion of biomass) by correcting their limited understanding of bioplastics. Our study added the diversity of consumers to those found in the previous studies, which may be informative for other countries to develop effective policies with their consumers’ potential uniqueness in mind. Furthermore, our study proved that learning the basics of bioplastics can influence preferences for certain attributes (e.g., biodegradability) of the sampled bioplastic products.