Experiment Suggests
Consumers Perceive Green
Products as Less Effective
I
n an article published on the Network for Sustainability
Business’ website (nbs.net), an experiment conducted
by Ying-Ching Lin of National Dong Hwa University in
Taiwan and Chiu-chi Angela Chang of Central Michigan
University reveals that consumers perceive green products as
less effective than conventional products.
Selecting random shoppers in a shopping center as test
subjects, the researchers instructed participants to use two
types of mouthwash: one using nontoxic ingredients by an
eco-friendly company, the other described without reference to
the environment. Using the New Environmental Paradigm
(NEP) scale, they found out that the more environmentally
conscious a consumer is, the more he or she tends to believe
that green products are less effective, and as a result, compensates by using more products than necessary.
In a related second experiment, they found out that when
products are given third-party endorsement (e.g. Consumer
Reports), consumer perception of product ineffectiveness
appears to decline.
Are you seeing the same perception among your customers
or clients? How are you educating them regarding your product
ingredients and their effectiveness? And, how are you reaching
out to third-party endorsers to earn credible recommendations?
INNOVATION AT WORK:
Edible Packaging
A
ccording to The Hartman Group’s latest report
titled Ideas in Food 2013: A Cultural Perspective,
edible packaging is the next big green idea in
cutting food and beverage packaging waste.
WikiCell Designs—an innovative packaging company that
combines food products with edible casings in order to eliminate plastic and paper—is a trailblazer in this new packaging
arena. In fact, taking a cue from the principles of Molecular
Gastronomy, the culinary art and science of transforming ingredients, the company has developed edible packaging, such as a
spinach membrane to hold pumpkin soup.
Will the spa industry soon be serving a cup of dissolvable
tea or Vitamin C supplements encased in an edible, real fruit
membrane?
March/April 2013
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PULSE 13