IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i12p5185-d1417321.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Investigating Students’ Food Packaging-Related Challenges and Preferences in Europe and Asia

Author

Listed:
  • Victoria Norton

    (Sensory Science Centre, Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Harry Nursten Building, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6DZ, UK)

  • Omobolanle O. Oloyede

    (Department of Nutrition, Food and Exercise Sciences, Dorothy Hodgkin Building, University of Surrey, Stag Hill, Guilford GU2 7XH, UK)

  • Niki Alexi

    (Food Quality Perception and Society Science Team, iSense Lab, Department of Food Science, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University, Agro Food Park 48, 8200 Aarhus N, Denmark)

  • Audrey Menil

    (Sensory Science Centre, Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Harry Nursten Building, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6DZ, UK)

  • Guangling Ren

    (Sensory Science Centre, Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Harry Nursten Building, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6DZ, UK)

  • Nirmal Jadhav

    (Sensory Science Centre, Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Harry Nursten Building, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6DZ, UK)

  • Stella Lignou

    (Sensory Science Centre, Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Harry Nursten Building, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6DZ, UK)

Abstract

There is increasing pressure for everyone to adopt sustainable behaviours and typically this starts at-home via appropriate food-based disposal practices; however, this is associated with various barriers impacting compliance. Targeted education in college and/or the university environment could provide a viable approach to overcome such difficulties; yet, limited readily available resources exist to bring this forth. This paper explores students’ food packaging expectations and attitudes as well as information preferences in four countries (UK, France, India, and China). Students (n = 533) completed an online survey capturing food packaging purchase-based decisions, disposal-related challenges, and communication preferences. Students noted that food packaging had a dominant role in product choice. Fresh produce was considered an area for improvement, especially in the UK, India, and France, whereas snacks/baked goods were a priority in China. Disposal-related challenges were mostly associated with mixed materials. Students cited no clear information, limited choices, excessive packaging, and no nearby bins as common food packaging issues. This suggests that improving infrastructure (more bins, clearer signing) could be fundamental to encourage students to implement more sustainable food packaging behaviour. Furthermore, colleges and/or universities should consider students’ preferred information formats (infographics, videos) and develop targeted education (recyclability) which can be easily disseminated to promote engagement and sustainable food packaging knowledge and awareness.

Suggested Citation

  • Victoria Norton & Omobolanle O. Oloyede & Niki Alexi & Audrey Menil & Guangling Ren & Nirmal Jadhav & Stella Lignou, 2024. "Investigating Students’ Food Packaging-Related Challenges and Preferences in Europe and Asia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-14, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:12:p:5185-:d:1417321
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/12/5185/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/12/5185/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bairong Wang & Yong Li, 2022. "Consumers’ Intention to Bring a Reusable Bag for Shopping in China: Extending the Theory of Planned Behavior," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-13, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wei Zheng & Hongliang Qiu & Alastair M. Morrison, 2023. "Applying a Combination of SEM and fsQCA to Predict Tourist Resource-Saving Behavioral Intentions in Rural Tourism: An Extension of the Theory of Planned Behavior," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-23, January.
    2. Xin Shen & Xun Cao & Sonia Sadeghian Esfahani & Tayyaba Saleem, 2022. "Factors Influencing Consumers’ Purchase Intention on Cold Chain Aquatic Products under COVID-19: An Investigation in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(8), pages 1-14, April.
    3. Yong Li & Bairong Wang & Orachorn Saechang, 2022. "Is Female a More Pro-Environmental Gender? Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-11, June.
    4. Maria Csutora & Gabor Harangozo & Cecilia Szigeti, 2022. "Factors behind the Consumer Acceptance of Sustainable Business Models in Pandemic Times," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-18, August.
    5. Derrick Jessey Yang & Tseng-Ping Chiu & Min-Yuan Ma, 2024. "How to Enhance Consumer’s Engagement with Returnable Cup Services? A Study of a Strategic Approach to Achieve Environmental Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-17, June.
    6. Leslier Valenzuela-Fernández & Manuel Escobar-Farfán & Mauricio Guerra-Velásquez & Elizabeth Emperatriz García-Salirrosas, 2023. "COVID-19 Effects on Environmentally Responsible Behavior: A Social Impact Perspective from Latin American Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-21, February.
    7. Ju Yeon Shin & Eojina Kim & Yoon Jung Jang & Manisha Singal, 2024. "Mindful Choices: Unveiling the Driving Factors behind Consumers’ Intention to Reduce Single-Use Plastic Utensils," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-20, January.
    8. Adel Nasser Badawi & Tarek Sayed Adelazim Ahmed & Eid Kaadan Alotaibi & Ihab Saad Abbas & Ehab Rabee Ali & Eman Sarhan M. Shaker, 2024. "The Role of Awareness of Consequences in Predicting the Local Tourists’ Plastic Waste Reduction Behavioral Intention: The Extension of Planned Behavior Theory," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-22, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:12:p:5185-:d:1417321. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.