Consumers’ Intention to Bring a Reusable Bag for Shopping in China: Extending the Theory of Planned Behavior

Abstract

Bringing a reusable bag for shopping is a typical pro-environmental behavior and has been shown to be effective in reducing plastics, but research regarding this green behavior is limited. In this regard, using the snowball sampling technique, this study conducts a survey on a sample of 361 Chinese consumers to investigate their intention to bring a reusable bag for shopping based on the theory of planned behavior. To increase the explaining power for behavioral intention, this study extended the TPB by adding two additional variables: locus of control and environmental concern. Data was analyzed using the structural equation modeling technique. Results show that attitude, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norm exert significant and positive influence on con-sumers’ intention to bring reusable bags for shopping, and the perceived behavioral control exerts the greatest influence, followed by attitude and subjective norm. Both locus of control and environmental concern fail to directly impact consumers’ bringing intention, but they could impact con-sumers’ intention indirectly. Specifically, the external locus of control exerts a negative influence on attitude and perceived behavioral control. Environmental concern positively impacts consumers’ attitudes towards bringing reusable bags for shopping. Results of this study could provide valuable insights into plastics management and policy design to promote consumers’ green shopping behav-iors. For instance, the finding that perceived behavioral control is the greatest contributor to con-sumers’ intention to bring reusable bags highlights the importance of clearing reusable bag prepa-ration and use barriers.