Sustainable Student Consumer – Myth or Reality?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15678/ZNUEK.2023.0999.0103Keywords:
sustainable consumer behaviour, sustainable consumption, sustainable clothing, sustainable food, sustainable cosmeticsAbstract
Objective: To compare and assess the behaviours of students as consumers of food, cosmetics and clothing in order to understand attitudes to sustainability.
Research Design & Methods: A survey was conducted in June 2022 using an online questionnaire. The link to the questionnaire was sent to a sample of n = 800 students studying in the Tricity area (Poland). 295 students completed the survey, representing a return rate of 36.9%. The responses received were analysed and conclusions were drawn.
Findings: The study shows that the young consumers take sustainable criteria into consideration in their purchasing decisions depending on the particular products. They follow sustainable aspects to the greatest extent in shopping for food, and to the least extent in the case of clothes. In the case of food, issues such as natural ingredients, environmentally friendly packaging, and egg labelling proved to be relatively important. With cosmetics, natural ingredients and environmentally friendly packaging were relatively important, and to a lesser extent, that cosmetics have not been tested on animals. In the case of clothing, sustainable issues proved to be the least important, though environmentally friendly packaging was sometime considered.
Implications / Recommendations: The consumers surveyed are insufficiently influenced by questions of sustainability in their consumer behaviours. This may prompt questions on the involvement of companies in introducing pro-ecological and pro-social changes to products and how they are produced, and consequently influence the pace and degree to which sustainable production and consumption are being brought about.
Contribution: The article contributes to the literature on the attitude of young consumers to sustainable development. It indicates areas that should be improved with regards to the behaviour of students when making purchasing decisions.
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