Personal and structural factors that influence individual plastic packaging consumption—Results from focus group discussions with German consumers

Plastic waste is perceived as one of the major environmental problems of our times. Nevertheless, rates of consumption of plastic packaging are constantly increasing. Based on focus group discussions with German consumers this study identified personal and structural barriers that hinder a reduced p...

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Main Authors: Jasmin Wiefek, Julia Steinhorst, Katharina Beyerl
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2021-12-01
Series:Cleaner and Responsible Consumption
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666784321000164
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spelling doaj-958ec6e790c34fc0b53323a7445e02402021-06-27T04:40:08ZengElsevierCleaner and Responsible Consumption2666-78432021-12-013100022Personal and structural factors that influence individual plastic packaging consumption—Results from focus group discussions with German consumersJasmin Wiefek0Julia Steinhorst1Katharina Beyerl2Corresponding author.; Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies e.V. (IASS), Berliner Strasse 130, 14467, Potsdam, GermanyInstitute for Advanced Sustainability Studies e.V. (IASS), Berliner Strasse 130, 14467, Potsdam, GermanyInstitute for Advanced Sustainability Studies e.V. (IASS), Berliner Strasse 130, 14467, Potsdam, GermanyPlastic waste is perceived as one of the major environmental problems of our times. Nevertheless, rates of consumption of plastic packaging are constantly increasing. Based on focus group discussions with German consumers this study identified personal and structural barriers that hinder a reduced plastic packaging consumption. Combining our findings with those of previous studies, we conclude that fundamental changes in infrastructures and lifestyles, as well as cultural and economic transformation processes, are needed to make zero-waste shopping the norm and unpackaged goods the most affordable and convenient option. The questions ‘Who is shopping?’, ‘What are we shopping?’, ‘Where do we go shopping?’, and ‘When/how often do we go shopping?’ help in identifying the levers for a dissemination of the unpacked concept and also reveal factors that have so far only been marginally discussed in the discourse on the plastic problem and have not yet been systematically linked to it.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666784321000164Plastic packagingZero packagingZero wasteWaste preventionSufficiencyConsumer behaviour
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Jasmin Wiefek
Julia Steinhorst
Katharina Beyerl
spellingShingle Jasmin Wiefek
Julia Steinhorst
Katharina Beyerl
Personal and structural factors that influence individual plastic packaging consumption—Results from focus group discussions with German consumers
Cleaner and Responsible Consumption
Plastic packaging
Zero packaging
Zero waste
Waste prevention
Sufficiency
Consumer behaviour
author_facet Jasmin Wiefek
Julia Steinhorst
Katharina Beyerl
author_sort Jasmin Wiefek
title Personal and structural factors that influence individual plastic packaging consumption—Results from focus group discussions with German consumers
title_short Personal and structural factors that influence individual plastic packaging consumption—Results from focus group discussions with German consumers
title_full Personal and structural factors that influence individual plastic packaging consumption—Results from focus group discussions with German consumers
title_fullStr Personal and structural factors that influence individual plastic packaging consumption—Results from focus group discussions with German consumers
title_full_unstemmed Personal and structural factors that influence individual plastic packaging consumption—Results from focus group discussions with German consumers
title_sort personal and structural factors that influence individual plastic packaging consumption—results from focus group discussions with german consumers
publisher Elsevier
series Cleaner and Responsible Consumption
issn 2666-7843
publishDate 2021-12-01
description Plastic waste is perceived as one of the major environmental problems of our times. Nevertheless, rates of consumption of plastic packaging are constantly increasing. Based on focus group discussions with German consumers this study identified personal and structural barriers that hinder a reduced plastic packaging consumption. Combining our findings with those of previous studies, we conclude that fundamental changes in infrastructures and lifestyles, as well as cultural and economic transformation processes, are needed to make zero-waste shopping the norm and unpackaged goods the most affordable and convenient option. The questions ‘Who is shopping?’, ‘What are we shopping?’, ‘Where do we go shopping?’, and ‘When/how often do we go shopping?’ help in identifying the levers for a dissemination of the unpacked concept and also reveal factors that have so far only been marginally discussed in the discourse on the plastic problem and have not yet been systematically linked to it.
topic Plastic packaging
Zero packaging
Zero waste
Waste prevention
Sufficiency
Consumer behaviour
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666784321000164
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AT katharinabeyerl personalandstructuralfactorsthatinfluenceindividualplasticpackagingconsumptionresultsfromfocusgroupdiscussionswithgermanconsumers
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