Tag Archives: sustainability

How do circular take-back programs shape the way we value products and what psychological ownership has to do with it?

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Sustainability is on everyone’s mind every step of the product life cycle. Many companies are implementing  circular take-back programs as part of their sustainability initiative programs. But these programs are doing more than just benefiting the planet—what consumers can do with the product at the end of its life is changing how they perceive and value these products.

A recent article by Anna Tari and Remi Trudel dives deep into the psychology behind these programs, revealing how they enhance a consumer’s connection to their purchases and increase the price people are willing to pay.

In 8 studies, Tari and Trudel find that consumers are willing to pay significantly more for the products from the circular take-back programs. The effect holds across different domains, be it apparel, stationary, furniture or tea set. The boost in valuation for take-back products is explained by increase in disposal control and psychological ownership.

Establishing a circular take-back program can be a challenging and costly task for the company: setting up the infrastructure, considering possible liability issues, forecasting the demand — are just a few things to consider. But if it is good for the environment and consumers are ready to pay more for that feeling of closeness and control, it might just be worth it!

You can read the full article here.

The more high-end an owned item, the longer the intended duration of ownership – Are Luxury and Sustainability one and the same?

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Consumers who adopt a lifestyle of “slow-fashion” purchase fewer, higher-end products that will last longer in comparison to cheap products that will be quickly thrown away. In their recent research, Jennifer J. Sun (Columbia Business School), Silvia Bellezza (Columbia Business School), and Neeru Paharia (McDonough School of Business) propose that purchasing luxury products can be more sustainable than purchasing lower-end products because of their longer lifespan. Although high-end products may be more durable, consumers still prefer to allocate the same budget on multiple lower-end products instead of purchasing fewer higher-end products. Consumers in general believe that high-end products last longer, but they fail to consider the product’s durability when making a purchase. Thus, marketers of high-end brands face the challenge of how to best educate their potential consumers in discerning the high quality and durability of their goods. However, it is relevant to mention that the authors also touch upon the darker sides of luxury. In that sense, product durability alone may not lead to comprehensively sustainable business practices.

You can read more about this research here.