Abstract

In this article, we used a hybrid latent class model and choice experimental data to examine the choices of consumers regarding water and carbon footprint attributes. The findings indicate that a significant proportion of middle- to upper-class consumers are generally willing to pay higher premiums for a reduction in both water usage and carbon emission in agricultural production, displayed through water and carbon footprint labelling. There exist heterogeneous preferences for water and carbon footprint sustainability attributes, with some being environmental sustainability activists and water sustainability advocates, while others are conservatives regarding environmentally sustainable products. About 86 per cent of the middle-class to upper-class respondents attaches a higher monetary value to low water usage relative to low carbon emissions. The preferences for ecologically sustainable product attributes differ significantly as a function of respondents' underlying attitudes towards environmental degradation and sustainability, socioeconomic characteristics and awareness of water scarcity situation locally. The findings contribute to the current debate on the possibility of using environmentally sustainable production and ecological footprint labelling to address the problem of ecological externalities in the food and agricultural sector.

Keywords

environmental sustainability; sustainable consumption; sustainable products; sustainability policy; South Africa

Published in

Agrekon
2019, Volume: 58, number: 3, pages: 354-368

UKÄ Subject classification

Agricultural Science
Economics


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03031853.2019.1589544

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/103486