Consumer Adoption of Eco-Friendly Packaging in Developing Economies: A Review of Barriers and Breakthroughs
Keywords:
eco-friendly packaging; sustainable consumption; developing economies; green marketing; attitude-behaviour gap; literature reviewAbstract
The transition to eco-friendly packaging is widely regarded as a critical lever for reducing plastic pollution and advancing sustainable consumption. While consumers in developing economies increasingly express environmental concern, their actual adoption of sustainable packaging remains limited, producing a persistent gap between attitude and behaviour. This review synthesises the scholarly literature published between 2015 and 2022 to map the principal barriers to, and breakthroughs for, consumer adoption of eco-friendly packaging in emerging-market contexts. Drawing on the Theory of Planned Behaviour and the value-attitude-behaviour framework, the review organises the evidence into four thematic strands: the economic barriers of price premiums and affordability; the cognitive and informational drivers of awareness, knowledge and certification credibility; the structural constraints of recycling and waste-management infrastructure; and the institutional and technological enablers of policy, regulation and material innovation. Three synthesis tables consolidate the determinants, the theoretical frameworks and the geographic distribution of the reviewed studies. The review finds that awareness, though necessary, is rarely the binding constraint; adoption is suppressed principally by price differentials and inadequate infrastructure, and is most effectively unlocked by innovation and supportive policy that narrow the cost gap. The review concludes that a coordinated, multi-stakeholder approach, aligning manufacturers, policymakers and retailers around price parity, credible labelling and enabling infrastructure, offers the most promising route to mainstream adoption. Directions for future research, including longitudinal designs, cross-country comparisons and behavioural experiments, are outlined.
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