27 Apr 2023 --- Despite consumers wanting to make environmentally friendly product choices, researchers at Tilburg University, Netherlands, have found that consumer perceptions of product packaging often deviate from the objective reality. According to the findings, this is often due to anti-plastics sentiments and regularly leads to excessive and needless material use. Published in the Journal of Consumer Research, the research includes eight studies showing that objectively, less environmentally friendly plastic and paper packaging is systematically perceived as more environmentally friendly than plastic-only packaging. The researchers are calling for a "minimal packaging" certification scheme to curb consumer perceptions.
