Retailer volunteerism as a plastic shopping bag governance tool: shoppers’ reflections and contributions to environmental social marketing

Introduction The pollution of landscapes and coastal environments with plastic shopping bag litter is an escalating global problem. The introduction of plastic bag tax aimed at addressing this challenge achieved limited success in South Africa. This study explores South African shoppers’ perception...

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Main Authors: Muposhi, Asphat, Shamhuyenhanzva, Roy
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publications 2022
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Online Access:https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/15245004211055688
http://hdl.handle.net/11408/4655
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author Muposhi, Asphat
Shamhuyenhanzva, Roy
author_facet Muposhi, Asphat
Shamhuyenhanzva, Roy
author_sort Muposhi, Asphat
collection DSpace
description Introduction The pollution of landscapes and coastal environments with plastic shopping bag litter is an escalating global problem. The introduction of plastic bag tax aimed at addressing this challenge achieved limited success in South Africa. This study explores South African shoppers’ perceptions towards social marketing anchored retailer voluntary initiatives, which is an emerging plastic bag policy option. Literature Adverse environmental and social effects of plastic shopping bags are discussed. Retailer voluntary initiatives used to de-market plastic shopping bags, including jurisdictions where they were implemented, are also reviewed. The focus is on retailer anti-plastic bag initiatives such as ‘reusable shopping bags’ and ‘plastic bag-free’ shops. Methods This study is situated within a constructivist research paradigm and a qualitative methodology. Data were collected from a sample of 31 grocery shoppers recruited from retailer outlets in South Africa’s metropolitan cities, Johannesburg and Pretoria. In-depth interviews were conducted to explore shoppers’ perceptions towards retailer-driven anti-plastic bag voluntary initiatives. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse interview data. Findings The findings of this study highlight shoppers’ negative perceptions towards retailer anti-plastic bag voluntary initiatives. Shoppers perceived retailer anti-plastic bag voluntary initiatives as forms of green capitalism, green entrepreneurship, symbolic corporate social responsibility, strategic business posture, commandeered green consumerism, measured environmental morality, masked green washing and calculated pre-emptive behaviour. Future studies may seek to extend the generalisability of these findings by using a larger sample size. Conclusion The study’s findings highlight the trust deficit associated with retailer anti-plastic bags voluntary initiatives and the importance of enhancing market acceptance and legitimacy. Mistrust and cynicism directed towards retailer anti-plastic bag voluntary initiatives point to the importance of consumer education aimed at emphasising the negative effects of single-use plastic shopping bags. This study concludes that reliance on retailer self-regulation may not be the best approach to solve the escalating problem of plastic bag litter. We argue that national governments need to implement interventions that strike a balance between environmental sustainability and economic development.
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spelling ir-11408-46552022-06-27T13:49:06Z Retailer volunteerism as a plastic shopping bag governance tool: shoppers’ reflections and contributions to environmental social marketing Muposhi, Asphat Shamhuyenhanzva, Roy plastic shopping bags retailer volunteerism masked green capitalism green washing symbolic corporate social responsibility Introduction The pollution of landscapes and coastal environments with plastic shopping bag litter is an escalating global problem. The introduction of plastic bag tax aimed at addressing this challenge achieved limited success in South Africa. This study explores South African shoppers’ perceptions towards social marketing anchored retailer voluntary initiatives, which is an emerging plastic bag policy option. Literature Adverse environmental and social effects of plastic shopping bags are discussed. Retailer voluntary initiatives used to de-market plastic shopping bags, including jurisdictions where they were implemented, are also reviewed. The focus is on retailer anti-plastic bag initiatives such as ‘reusable shopping bags’ and ‘plastic bag-free’ shops. Methods This study is situated within a constructivist research paradigm and a qualitative methodology. Data were collected from a sample of 31 grocery shoppers recruited from retailer outlets in South Africa’s metropolitan cities, Johannesburg and Pretoria. In-depth interviews were conducted to explore shoppers’ perceptions towards retailer-driven anti-plastic bag voluntary initiatives. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse interview data. Findings The findings of this study highlight shoppers’ negative perceptions towards retailer anti-plastic bag voluntary initiatives. Shoppers perceived retailer anti-plastic bag voluntary initiatives as forms of green capitalism, green entrepreneurship, symbolic corporate social responsibility, strategic business posture, commandeered green consumerism, measured environmental morality, masked green washing and calculated pre-emptive behaviour. Future studies may seek to extend the generalisability of these findings by using a larger sample size. Conclusion The study’s findings highlight the trust deficit associated with retailer anti-plastic bags voluntary initiatives and the importance of enhancing market acceptance and legitimacy. Mistrust and cynicism directed towards retailer anti-plastic bag voluntary initiatives point to the importance of consumer education aimed at emphasising the negative effects of single-use plastic shopping bags. This study concludes that reliance on retailer self-regulation may not be the best approach to solve the escalating problem of plastic bag litter. We argue that national governments need to implement interventions that strike a balance between environmental sustainability and economic development. 2022-01-14T09:37:50Z 2022-01-14T09:37:50Z 2021 Article 1539-4093 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/15245004211055688 http://hdl.handle.net/11408/4655 en Social Marketing Quarterly;Vol.27 , Iss.4 open SAGE Publications
spellingShingle plastic shopping bags
retailer volunteerism
masked green capitalism
green washing
symbolic corporate social responsibility
Muposhi, Asphat
Shamhuyenhanzva, Roy
Retailer volunteerism as a plastic shopping bag governance tool: shoppers’ reflections and contributions to environmental social marketing
title Retailer volunteerism as a plastic shopping bag governance tool: shoppers’ reflections and contributions to environmental social marketing
title_full Retailer volunteerism as a plastic shopping bag governance tool: shoppers’ reflections and contributions to environmental social marketing
title_fullStr Retailer volunteerism as a plastic shopping bag governance tool: shoppers’ reflections and contributions to environmental social marketing
title_full_unstemmed Retailer volunteerism as a plastic shopping bag governance tool: shoppers’ reflections and contributions to environmental social marketing
title_short Retailer volunteerism as a plastic shopping bag governance tool: shoppers’ reflections and contributions to environmental social marketing
title_sort retailer volunteerism as a plastic shopping bag governance tool: shoppers’ reflections and contributions to environmental social marketing
topic plastic shopping bags
retailer volunteerism
masked green capitalism
green washing
symbolic corporate social responsibility
url https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/15245004211055688
http://hdl.handle.net/11408/4655
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