CURIOUS ABOUT THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY? New evidence on what really drives consumers to seek information about the product lifecycle and to buy “circular”

To understand how consumers are attracted by “green clues” towards the circular economy and are pushed towards further information seeking on the product environmental footprint, ultimately influencing their purchasing decision, we have carried out a research at the international level. This research is based on a survey that we have conducted within the Life MA.G.I.S. project, the results of which are summarized in a newly published article on “Business Strategy and the Environment”.

The uptake of the circular economy has repurposed traditional consumption habits, expanding opportunities for consumers to buy “green” and, therefore, to protect the environment by reducing or preventing the impacts throughout the whole product lifecycle. Drawing from extant rational and moral theories in behavioral change, our research extends the understanding of consumer involvement in the circular economy by investigating whether being exposed to “green” clues can trigger additional information seeking and be empowering for consumers to contribute to the circular economy. In contrast to some prior research that suggests that information can overload consumers, our research finds that these “green” clues can stimulate greater information seeking, which can make the consumer feel more capable of effecting change through circular economy consumption. This study draws a conceptual model for behavioral change, tested on a representative sample of individuals across the five largest European countries (n=4,161). Results show that external “green” clues prompt consumers' information search on product lifecycle and ultimately make them feel empowered to contribute to the circular economy. Significances for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers are several.

First of all, this research contributes to the current theoretical debate on the role of information in prompting sustainable consumption. Information search, indeed, is triggered by a blend of personal attitudes, personal beliefs, and interactions with the external environment. Moreover, information search about green products can be empowering to people towards the circular economy in many ways. Simply put, knowledgeable consumers translate their circular economy commitment into a variety of virtuous consumption habits throughout the entire product lifecycle.

Our research delivers suggestions for business practitioners as well. Managers shall recognize the importance of providing valuable information on green product attributes. The role of eco-labels can be pivotal in pleasing the consumers' need of being informed, but green claims have to be supported by additional information: employing digital solutions like QR codes and barcodes can lead consumers toward reliable sources of information and, ultimately, satisfy their need for knowledge.

Finally, policy implications stem from our research. Metrics based on lifecycle logic like the International Life Cycle Assessment or the European Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) can represent robust methodologies for producing reliable information. The idea of the European Commission, as emerged in the recent Circular Economy Action Plan, to link green claims to LCA methodologies may represent an effective policy intervention to make the green products market more transparent, reducing greenwashing and encountering consumers' needs for reliable information.

The full text of the article can be requested on my Researchgate webpage, at the following link:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/363241556_Curious_about_the_circular_economy_Internal_and_external_influences_on_information_search_about_the_product_lifecycle