An investigation of the effects of infographics and green messages on the environmental attitudes of Taiwanese online shoppers

Abstract

The rapid growth of e-commerce in Taiwan has increased the use of postal packaging; this contributes to the destruction of our environment, because it cannot be re-used, and may contain toxic substances. To address this understudied issue, we examined the effects of attaching green messages about environmental attitudes in the form of infographics on postal packaging. To improve our understanding of consumer preferences with respect to green messages, first, a questionnaire survey of online shoppers was conducted. Based on a statistical analysis of the results, it was found that green messages require excellent infographics in order to deliver environmental knowledge. Graphical information was considered superior to text-only information in the presentation of green messages and the visualization of green information by online shoppers. This result indicates that infographics have emerged as a better visual approach to deliver green messages. We hope that these findings will serve as a reference in the design of environmentally-friendly postal packaging.