College students’ willingness to pay for carbon-labelled drinks

Abstract

Carbon labels play an important role in guiding responsible consumption and production, yet consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for carbon-labelled products remains poorly understood in China. This study proposes a conceptual framework to measure the WTP for carbon-labelled drinks among Chinese college students. Using the contingent valuation method, we collect 1,787 questionnaires and find that college students are willing to pay a price premium of 17.5%, 13.5%, and 12.9% for carbon-labelled mineral water, milk, and wine, respectively. We show that environmental awareness, perception of carbon labels, attitudes towards carbon labels, and publicity positively influence consumers’ WTP in different pathways. Attitudes mediate the effects of environmental awareness and publicity on WTP, while perception influences WTP only indirectly via attitudes. These findings are expected to not only deepen the understanding of the mechanism behind WTP for carbon-labelled products, but also to provide valuable insights into the promotion of carbon labels in China and other emerging economies worldwide.

Keywords

Carbon-labelled drinks / willingness to pay / structural equation model / college students

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