Do the French do not care about the eco-impact of purchases?

[Christophe]

CONSUMPTION - French people less sensitive to the ecological character of products

A study carried out by Cetelem on new or second-hand purchases, all goods combined, reveals that only 56% of French consumers take into account the ecological character of the product before buying it.

The ecological criterion would be taken into account by 56% of French people during the process of buying a product. With this figure, France is far behind the European average which is 62%. And, the same is true for national preference: 42% of French buyers say that they take into account the national origin of the product when purchasing it, compared to 47% in the rest of Europe.

These figures are partly explained by the fact that French consumers are also the most sensitive to the price of products. The price is involved in 98% of purchases against 96% for the others.

Source: http://www.enviro2b.com/2011/02/14/cons ... -produits/

Notes:

a) In practice, these figures already seem high to me: 56% of households that take into account the eco impact? Sorry, when we see the environmentalists' score in the different elections, well I really can't believe it ...

Then if that was the case why do we still see apples from South Africa everywhere? For the minority?

b) It reminds me of and contrasts with a survey of some time ago (which I can no longer find Help please!) which said that (supposedly) more than 80% of French people took into account the eco impact of their purchases...

Figure that, of course, I NEVER believed ...

c) All this should be qualified because of the source "Cetelem" (consumer loans). The respondents are therefore a priori people having recourse (at least once?) To credit to the CON ... summons.

This shows once again the difference between words and deeds ...

[Obamot]

Of course! Thanks to our stats teacher who showed us how easy it is to bias a "study" ....

It is enough to see how the questions are oriented for the same problem. Of the kind:

"Do you care about the eco-impact of your purchases?" (Answer almost contained in the question ...)

OU

"What is the main criterion that tips the balance towards a decisive choice for the purchase of an item?"



The handling is even greater with the "Multiple entry choice" or as soon as you have checked one box among others, even if it is not at the top of your concerns, it is relatively easy to ensure that the answer given is assigned to a category - that ultimately you would not have / did not choose in priority. Or even who is the opposite of your real concerns!

Which amounts to making your "vote" say what the principal wants him to say ....

But if it's a bank, you can trust it, polls confirm

[dedeleco]

The traders who make statistics on the objects bought by their customers by paying with their money make a real survey much less biased !!!!!

[elephant]

There is a basic principle in political economy: "the buyer seeks to maximize his satisfactions".
There are criteria, especially in public procurement, it shows in some specifications.

However, if, for example my wife prefers seasonal vegetables, there are days when she has no choice, limited by the budget.

And for other purchases, some choices are difficult: A Peugeot or a Kia 7 year warranty (same importer in Belgium)
When we know the price of certain parts, we hesitate ...

There was a post the other day on this site on tartufes of ecology: easy to make certain choices when you have money.

[Grelinette]

I believe that this type of survey is not correct because it only measures a superficial aspect of consumer behavior.

As the elephant says, the budget for the average French consumer remains the decisive point.

Personally I always look at the ecological indications but for financial reasons I only very rarely buy the products that I would have preferred!

Another point that seems important to me is that in France we no longer have confidence in the "ecological" criterion displayed.

Between greenwashing, the fallacious arguments of industrialists to confuse us, pseudo labels and other scams to make us mistake artificial bladders for natural lanterns, the simple indication "ecological products" is no longer taken at its true value.

Personally again, when I see a product that displays "ostentatiously" on the packaging "ecological", my first reaction is to suspect a scam!

[sherkanner]

Personally again, when I see a product that displays "ostentatiously" on the packaging "ecological", my first reaction is to suspect a scam!

And my first reflex is to read the packaging, whether organic or not elsewhere

[elephant]

You're right, Grelinette, saying:

Personally again, when I see a product that displays "ostentatiously" on the packaging "ecological", my first reaction is to suspect a scam!

Just last night, in front of the TV, my wife was speaking out against a liquid laundry ad which announced their new ecological packaging.

Without however denying the effort of certain firms, it must be realized that advertising, marketing and production is above all the business of dynamic executives with big cars and all polluting everything ...