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PLoS One. 2013 Dec 4;8(12):e80719. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0080719. eCollection 2013.

Who needs cream and sugar when there is eco-labeling? Taste and willingness to pay for "eco-friendly" coffee.

Author information

1
Department of Building, Energy and Environmental Engineering, University of Gävle, Gävle, Sweden ; Linnaeus Centre for Research on Hearing and Deafness, Swedish Institute for Disability Research, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.

Abstract

Participants tasted two cups of coffee, decided which they preferred, and then rated each coffee. They were told (in lure) that one of the cups contained "eco-friendly" coffee while the other did not, although the two cups contained identical coffee. In Experiments 1 and 3, but not in Experiment 2, the participants were also told which cup contained which type of coffee before they tasted. The participants preferred the taste of, and were willing to pay more for, the "eco-friendly" coffee, at least those who scored high on a questionnaire on attitudes toward sustainable consumer behavior (Experiment 1). High sustainability consumers were also willing to pay more for "eco-friendly" coffee, even when they were told, after their decision, that they preferred the non-labeled alternative (Experiment 2). Moreover, the eco-label effect does not appear to be a consequence of social desirability, as participants were just as biased when reporting the taste estimates and willingness to pay anonymously (Experiment 3). Eco labels not only promote a willingness to pay more for the product but also lead to a more favorable perceptual experience of it.

PMID:
24324623
PMCID:
PMC3851458
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0080719
[Indexed for MEDLINE]
Free PMC Article
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