We are more likely to recycle things we relate to our identity

We are more prone to recycle our throwaway cups, cans and paper if we somehow link them to our sense of identity, according to a new study. Looking at ways to get consumers to recycle more, researchers ran several studies using popular brand names, a university logo, the person’s own name and the U.S. flag.
One of the findings was that if a plain paper cup had the person’s name on it, 48% recycled it. Of those who had a cup without a name, only 26% recycled. If the person had a cup with their name spelled incorrectly, only 24% threw it into the recycling bin. An article about the research is published in the Journal of Consumer Research (News Article University of Alberta, 14 November 2016).
Click here for the news article.
Click here for an abstract of the published article.
Click here for more information about the new NVC Project PUMA: the end of packaging as an environmental issue (kick-off on 29 March 2017).

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