How much do consumers consider sustainability when purchasing a toothbrush? A discrete choice experiment

Abstract

Introduction A recent resurgence of sustainability in healthcare has resulted in huge progress towards more 'eco-aware' products and their incorporation into everyday life, with home oral hygiene products being not far behind. However, it is unclear which components of sustainability consumers value or how much they are willing to pay for these. Aim To use a discrete choice experiment (DCE) to evaluate preferences for attributes such as recyclable handle materials and recyclable packaging of low-cost disposable manual toothbrushes, along with the willingness to pay (WTP) for said attributes. Methods Design and implementation of the DCE were informed by best practice guidelines. A multi-method approach was used for attribute identification and refinement. Participants were recruited through an online survey platform. Conditional logistic regression model was used to estimate participant preferences for the attributes. WTP for attributes was estimated using the ratio of the coefficient of a given attribute level to the product cost coefficient. Results A total of 326 participants took part in the survey, of which 169 were women (52%). The median age was 35 years of age. The three most influential attributes were: bamboo handles (= 0.486 and WTP = £4.85 [€5.79]), recyclable plastic handles (= 0.338, WTP = £3.37 [€4.02]) and recyclable packaging (= 0.191,WTP = £2.32 [€2.77]). Conclusion Sustainable attributes dominated consumer preference when considering the purchase of a manual disposable toothbrush. This could perhaps be due to new environmental initiatives from influential oral hygiene companies or activism.