[Monica Gerhardt]

Please provide feedback on Consumer Behavior Attitudes Towards Reusable and Disposable Items: Small Changes Inspire Big Ideas

[Cathy Cole]

This is an interesting topic. It would be cool if you could do a field study or have consumers/students make an actual choice. Is there a direction for H3? Do you think people who are more concerned about cleanliness will be more or less likely to use reusable products? Why?

[Ekin Pehlivan]

While it may be beyond the scope of the current project a future study in how Covid-19 impacted perceptions of reusable and recyclable choices would be an interesting extension. One of the companies I work with had to change their messaging in their marketing materials as the e-commerce search data trend (at least temporarily) seems to be for disposable products, for fear of contamination. I am curious as to the permanence and magnitude of this change, and would look forward to hearing your thoughts.

[Mariea Hoy]

That’s a really interesting idea Ekin – how do you balance the harm done by not recycling plastics to the (perceived/potential) harm of COVID risk of not using disposable products. Right now, is everything examined through the lens of minimizing COVID risk so other types of prosocial behavior takes a back seat. Are these effects temporary or long term?

We’ve all seen pictures of people trashing masks and gloves. What is the environmental byproduct of improper disposal?

Very intriguing research directions.

[Sarah Fischbach]

Thank you for the feedback. We will incorporate post covid questionnaires into our study to find out more about the effects on consumers and the environment.

[Author]

Posts