Study on Consumers’ Purchase Intentions for Carbon-Labeled Products

Abstract

The carbon-labeling system is able to quantify the level of greenhouse gas emissions of goods throughout their life cycle, including production, delivery, and consumption. With the proposal of carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals, the carbon-labeling system has an inevitable impact on production by companies and the purchase behavior of consumers. This paper constructs a theoretical model of the influencing mechanism on consumer willingness to purchase carbon-labeled products by utilizing the theory of consumption values. Through a survey and analysis of a sample of 347 Chinese university students, a regression analysis is applied to explore their willingness to consume carbon-labeled products and the corresponding influencing factors. The results show that (1) despite relatively low public awareness of the carbon-labeling system, the willingness to purchase carbon-labeled products is strong; (2) functional value, emotional value, and epistemic value can positively influence customer willingness to purchase carbon-labelled products; and (3) there is a significant difference in the willingness to purchase carbon-labelled products in terms of age and no significant difference in terms of gender, income, occupation, and education level. Based on the findings, some recommendations are made to help companies adopt appropriate strategies to trigger consumers’ purchase intentions and gain a market advantage in carbon-labeling scenarios.