Circular economy of shopping bags in emerging markets: A demographic comparative analysis of propensity to reuse plastic bags versus cotton bags and paper bags

Abstract

This study seeks to profile the shoppers’ propensity to reuse shopping bags and the type of shopping bags they reuse on the basis of demographics. The study used an observation method to record the consumers’ shopping habits and a short questionnaire to record the participants’ demographics. A binary regression analysis and a multinomial regression analysis were used to analyse data. The results indicated that the mature aged, women, and low income shoppers were more likely to practice reuse of plastic shopping bags than their respective counterparts. There were no statistically significant differences in the likelihood of young aged shoppers compared to mature aged shoppers and low income shoppers compared to high income shoppers using cotton bags than plastic bags. There were also no statistically significant differences in the likelihood of young aged shoppers compared to mature aged shoppers and male shoppers compared to female shoppers using paper bags than plastic bags. However, the results indicated a statically significant result in how males compared to females differed in their using of cotton bags than plastic bags and a statistically significant result in how low income shoppers compared to high income shoppers differed in their use of paper bags than plastic bags.

Keywords:

• circular economy
• plastic paper bags
• reuse
• low income shoppers
• high income shoppers
• cotton bags

PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT

The study was focused on sustainable reuse of three types of shopping bags that is, plastic, cotton and paper shopping bags. Consumer choices on the type of shopping bags were observed, taking note of the age, gender and level of income of the participants. The research findings were that mature or older consumers, women and low income earners reused shopping bags unlike the younger consumers, males and high income earners. Plastic bags were more popular, followed by cotton bags and the least used were paper bags. Women preferred cotton bags and high income earners preferred paper bags. Going forward, it was recommended that policy makers must enforce separate waste plastic collection points to enable recycling and proper disposal of the much used plastic bags when they reach their end of life. Retailers could produce advertisements capturing the desired shopping bag to gain consumers’ attention.

Disclosure statement

All authors did not have any conflict of interest

Additional information

Funding

The authors did not receive any funding for this study

Notes on contributors

Divaries Cosmas Jaravaza

Divaries Cosmas Jaravaza, Ms Sarah Nyengerai and Dr Paul Mukucha are lecturers at Bindura University of Science Education working on several projects on circular economy (taking a business perspective) and green marketing. The studies are done in subsistence markets in Sub-Saharan Africa and the authors can forge collaborations with researchers in other countries for cross cultural studies in transformative consumer research as well as in entrepreneurship, supply chain management, branding and indigenous knowledge systems.