An empirical study on consumer acceptance of bamboo products as substitutes for plastic products in the light of carbon labeling

Bamboo products have typological diversity and high carbon transfer efficiency during processing, so the carbon sequestration benefits of the products are obvious. It plays an important role in replacing plastic products, protecting the environment and developing sustainable communities. However, there is still a lack of research on consumer acceptance of bamboo instead of plastic products, which restricts the formulation and implementation of bamboo instead of plastic policies. Therefore, our study utilized product carbon labels as the data information carrier and employed a designed questionnaire to analyze the driving factors influencing consumers acceptance of bamboo instead of plastic products. The bamboo product selected for this study was bamboo flour film bags, which yielded a cradle-to-gate carbon footprint of 3.5303 kg CO 2 -eq/kg using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method. After designing a questionnaire through the carbon footprint data of the bamboo flour film bags and establishing the theoretical framework of the study, consumer knowledge, attitudes and acceptance of bamboo instead of plastic products were then analyzed and tested with structural equation modelling (SEM). The results of the study revealed that consumer awareness of bamboo instead of plastic products is generally low among the youth group. The SEM results showed that consumer attitudes had the strongest direct effect on acceptance (β = 0.857), while green values, social green advocacy, and environmental awareness influenced acceptance indirectly through the sequential pathway. Although consumers showed interest in purchasing bamboo-based alternatives, about 31.05% of respondents accepted a 10% price premium. This study offers valuable policy insights for the promotion of bamboo instead of plastic products and promoting green and low-carbon consumption.