Abstract
In order to reduce the environmental impact of products, sustainability must be improved in many industries. One way to accomplish this aim is to influence consumers by means of nudging in order to choose more sustainable products in online choices. We investigated whether the lateral presentation of products from left to right or from right to left, along with using a status quo default option, influence sustainable choices of make-up products. A pilot study has been conducted in order to obtain background information on make-up choices. Next, an online, quantitative experiment has been conducted in which 330 women together made 1094 hypothetical make-up product choices. Making the sustainable option the default resulted in more sustainable choices than making unsustainable products the default. The left–right versus right–left presentation of products did not significantly influence consumer choices. Furthermore, higher educated people and those finding sustainability important relatively often chose a sustainable make-up product. People frequently wearing make-up and those finding a low price important relatively often chose an unsustainable make-up product. Our experiment suggests that making sustainable products the default choice makes a sustainable choice about 8% more likely than making unsustainable products the default choice.
Highlights
The environmental impact of products has become very important [1,2]
Our research aims at showing the effect in the online choice environment and sustainable consumer choice, which both have become more and more important in modern economy
Our study has tested the effects of two nudges—presenting default choice options, and left-to-right versus right-to-left presentation order of the choice options—on the choice of degree of make-up product sustainability
Summary
The environmental impact of products has become very important [1,2]. Environmental problems of the 21st century cannot be resolved through global governance alone [3]; consumers need to contribute to this aim as well. Sustainability comprises environmental, social, and economic aspects [4,5] and can be achieved in many consumer areas, including make-up as part of cosmetics [6] It is not always clear what the green labels given to make-up products mean, which makes it hard to choose between products [6,7]. People place high emphasis on recyclability of the packaging, low energy use and low carbon dioxide emissions during production and shipping [7] People find it important that products are produced in an environmentally-friendly way and their home appliances must be energy efficient. Not all synthetic ingredients (such as preservatives in sunscreens) have a negative effect on skin health [11] These can be even better, safer or more environmentally-friendly than natural ingredients (containing, for example, residual pesticides)
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