Abstract
Consumer involvement plays a major role in the circular economy (CE), which requires a new and more active role of consumers. However, consumer awareness of and interest and involvement in the CE is low. Therefore, we aimed to find the starting points for consumer involvement in activities that promote a CE by exploring consumers’ general perceptions of the CE and several practice cases. Four focus group discussions were conducted (N = 24) in the Netherlands. The group discussions showed that most consumers did not have a clear understanding of the term “circular economy,” although their associations pointed in the right direction. Perceptions, attitudes, motives and barriers in terms of advantages and disadvantages varied among the participants and were related to (1) the functionalities of the products, (2) the production system, (3) economic aspects and (4) emotions such as concern about risks. We identified four key messages: targeting with regard to behaviours, attitudes and product functionalities; aligning with emotions; linking to practical cases; and applying multidimensional CE-related behaviour in everyday life and involving consumers in its innovation. These key messages are helpful in overcoming obstacles and barriers, raising awareness and providing input for sustainable consumption and production in the CE.
Highlights
Linking the circular economy (CE) to concrete practice cases and providing advantages and functionalities can contribute to creating more familiarity with the concept of the CE and, more importantly, to consumers’ willingness to relate conceptual issues to their own behaviours
The group discussions showed that most consumers did not have a clear understanding of the term “circular economy,” their associations were pointed in the right direction, and a few did not have any associations with this term
When discussing CE practice cases, the participants showed variety in their attitudes, motives and barriers, as well as their intentions to engage in CE behaviour
Summary
Consumers have roles in a CE as purchasers, maintainers, repairers, sellers, sharers, collaborators, and waste discarders [5] These consumer positions within a CE and the importance of their active involvement to achieve the CE goals contrast with the current situation that is characterised by a lack of consumer awareness and acceptance (see, e.g., [4,6]). The objective of this study is to improve our understanding of consumer perceptions by focusing on both the CE as a general term and, in terms of food-related practice cases of a circular nature. By using these issues as topics of conversation in focus group discussions, we explore how consumers perceive the CE at both an abstract level and more concrete levels. We aim to add to the emerging field of CE research by gaining insight into consumer perceptions on the CE and finding possible entry points for research, intervention, and communication activities to stimulate consumer interest and involvement
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