Carbon Footprint Rating Information on Food Packaging and Consumer Low-Carbon Purchasing Behavior: An Integrated TPB–TAM Model

Abstract

Against the backdrop of global warming and China’s Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality Goals, this study focuses on carbon footprint rating information on packaging, addressing the gap between consumer cognition and behavior in food consumption caused by invisibility of carbon emissions. This study integrates the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) with the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), designed a “letter-plus-color” dual-coded carbon footprint label as the experimental stimulus, and conducted a survey of 581 respondents across China’s four major regions using structural equation modeling. Results indicate that perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control all positively predict purchase attitudes. Among these, perceived behavioral control also independently predicts actual purchase behavior. Multigroup analysis further reveals that household purchasing responsibility moderates the “attitude → intention” relationship: purchasing decision-makers engage in realistic trade-offs, whereas non-purchasing decision-makers are driven by value congruence.Theoretically, this study deepens our understanding of cognitive intervention mechanisms of carbon footprint labels and expands explanatory power of the TPB-TAM model in low-carbon contexts. From a practical perspective, this study provides guidance for governments in designing targeted labeling policies and for companies in developing packaging that aligns with cognitive principles.