This paper explores the disjuncture between consumers’ expressed preferences for ecologically benign packaging and their subsequent purchase decisions. We investigate consumers’ attitudes towards compostable bio-based food packaging, in contrast to fossil-based plastic packaging, framing our study within analysis of implicit attitudes. We address a gap in knowledge about the moderating effects of consumers’ reported health consciousness on the relationship between implicit health associations with compostable packaging and subsequent purchase intentions. Specifically, across four studies employing Implicit Associations Tests (IATs), we analyse the relationship between implicit and explicit attitudes, relating packaging associations with consumers’ behavioural intentions. Our findings confirm positive implicit (and explicit) perceptions of compostable bio-based packaging (vs. fossil-based plastic) regardless of the healthiness of the food contained. This is reflected in consumers’ purchase intentions. We build on this to incorporate the effects of consumers’ self-reported health consciousness. We find that low health-conscious consumers are more likely to be guided in their compostable packaging decisions by their unconscious and automatic health-packaging associations, than consumers with high health consciousness. We contribute to policy discussion about effective ways of reducing fossil-based plastic packaging use and note that environmental claims for non-plastic alternatives aimed at consumers with low-health consciousness should make appeals based on health benefits, tapping into implicit attitudes to evoke automatic responses.

本文探讨了消费者对生态良性包装表达的偏好与其随后的购买决定之间的脱节。我们调查了消费者对可堆肥生物基食品包装的态度，与化石基塑料包装相比，我们的研究框架内隐含态度的分析。我们解决了关于消费者报告的健康意识对隐性健康关联与可堆肥包装与随后购买意图之间关系的调节作用的知识空白。具体而言，在四项采用内隐关联测试 (IAT) 的研究中，我们分析了内隐态度和外显态度之间的关系，将包装关联与消费者的行为意图联系起来。我们的研究结果证实了对可堆肥生物基包装（相对于化石基塑料）的积极隐含（和明确）看法，而不管所含食物的健康状况如何。这体现在消费者的购买意愿上。我们以此为基础，将消费者自我报告的健康意识的影响纳入其中。我们发现，与健康意识高的消费者相比，健康意识低的消费者更有可能通过无意识和自动的健康包装联想来指导他们做出可堆肥包装的决定。我们为有关减少化石基塑料包装使用的有效方法的政策讨论做出贡献，并指出针对健康意识低下的消费者的非塑料替代品的环境声明应基于健康益处提出呼吁，