Page 41 - Plastics News July 2019

FeAtures

In both types of messages, the liaisons shared information "Overall, our research suggests that one simple way to
about the proper disposal of waste at tailgates. For the increase recycling is to expose consumers to information
control condition, the liaisons shared no other information, about the transformation of recyclables into new products,
whereas in the transformation condition, liaisons informed as doing so will inspire them to recycle," said Winterich.
tailgaters about the transformation of each type of "Increasing transformation salience among consumers
recyclable into a new product. Once again, recycling rates should be a priority for organizations and public policy
were significantly higher for study participants who were officials seeking to encourage recycling among the public
exposed to the transformation messaging. Finally, the at large. In addition, our work provides insights into how
team conducted a study examining the effects of online companies can use product transformation messages
advertisements that showed product transformation on to increase recycling. This is especially important
website click-through rates. The researchers studied an for companies that aim to use recycled materials in
initiative by the clothing company Madewell, which at their production, as these companies need to increase
the time was running a blue jeans recycling campaign consumers' recycling rates to effectively develop a
encouraging customers to recycle their jeans so they could circular economy."
be transformed into housing insulation. Winterich and Other authors on the paper include Gergana Nenkov,
her colleagues published paid advertisements on Google's associate professor of marketing and Haub Family Faculty
Ad platform to examine whether participants would be Fellow, Carroll School of Management, Boston College, and
more likely to click on a paid recycling advertisement if Gabriel Gonzales, doctoral candidate in marketing, Penn
it featured product transformation information than on State. This research was supported by a Sustainability
an advertisement that did not include such information. Grant from the Smeal College of Business at Penn State as
The team's analysis revealed that click-through rates well as a research grant from Boston College. A partnership
were higher for the product transformation advertisement with the Sustainability Institute at Penn State provided
compared to the control advertisement.
staff support.

41 July 2019 Plastics News