Plastic or not plastic? That's the problem: analysing the Italian students purchasing behavior of mineral water bottles made with eco-friendly packaging

Abstract

European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy draws new shapes of economy in order to protect the environment and reduce marine pollution, GHGs and countries’ dependence on imported fossil fuels. The core of EU Strategy is also to try to transform the way plastic products are designed, produced, used and recycled in the EU. Italy is the first country in Europe and the second in the world for consumption of bottled water, with remarkable environmental impacts, from production to distribution. Starting from social science theory, this work aims to investigate consumers' behavior and the related factors that influence their behavior pertaining to the purchase of. mineral water bottles made with eco-friendly packaging, taking the student population of the University of Palermo as a reference sample. The work carries out an analysis by means of a fuzzy approach that is based on the evidence that the real world is so complex that it cannot be treated by means of clear rigid propositions. Findings show the presence of high sensitivity to pay for green bottles. This work further contributes to the existing research by emphasizing the crucial role of new marketing and policy plans based on the attitudinal, behavioral and socio-economic characteristics of consumers. Thus, this study delivers insights for policy-makers towards formulating favourable policies to increase sustainable firm processes and consumers’ green consumption within circular models.