Market strategy for promoting green consumption: Consumer preference and policy implications for laundry detergent

Green consumption is a very common phrase in our daily lives, yet product characteristics that mainly contribute to the diffusion of green products are largely unknown. Based on microeconomic theory, we conduct a conjoint survey of consumer preferences for a ubiquitous green product—laundry detergent. We analyze the correlation between consumers' demographic variables and attributes of laundry detergents through a hierarchical Bayesian mixed logit model. We find that consumer preferences for attributes display significant heterogeneity. Age and income significantly influence the marginal preferences for attributes. An examination of consumer willingness to pay and of the relative importance of each attribute reveals that price and base material are the most important attributes. Green attributes, such as skin irritation potential and biodegradability, tend to be less important. This study also examines preference heterogeneity based on previous purchase experience. To promote green consumption, we emphasize the need for policies that reduce the value‐action gap.