Consumer preferences for circular outdoor sporting goods: An Adaptive Choice-Based Conjoint analysis among residents of European outdoor markets

Abstract

Since 2015, the concept of a Circular Economy (CE) has been gaining attention within the field of corporate sustainability including the textile sector. Further, CE related literature often mentions single actors from the Outdoor Sporting Goods Industry (OSGI) as forerunners. However, an analysis of users’ acceptance of circular outdoor products is so far missing in that literature. Thus, this study aimed to analyse if outdoor sporting goods users value circular product attributes using an Adaptive Choice-Based Conjoint analysis. The conjoint data from 1012 respondents, resident in important European outdoor markets, show that functional product attributes as well as social sustainability are more important for the purchase choice than circular product attributes while product durability and the share of recycled material used in the product are the most relevant circular attributes. Further, environmental awareness (strong influence), gender and age (weak influence) moderate the preference for functionality rather than circularity: environmentally aware, young, or female users are comparatively receptive to circular product features. As the study relates these findings to previous research and discusses practical implications, it adds an OSGI-specific perspective to the literature on consumer acceptance of circular products and thereby gives action recommendations to industry managers.