2014 ASHS Annual Conference

Environmental sustainability can be defined in many ways, and consumers differ in their attitudes about product attributes they consider sustainable. Knowing the distinctions among consumers in their preference for biorenewable plant containers enables our team to better understand the market, and provides information the plant-container industry can use to develop marketing and labeling strategies. We conducted an online survey of 800 current and former consumers of University of Nevada Cooperative Extension horticultural programs. Our objectives were to: 1) determine the characteristic(s) of biorenewable plant containers deemed most desirable and 2) provide profiles of potential purchasers of biorenewable plant containers. Respondents (N=215) were mostly homeowners, frequent plant purchasers and represented a wide range of household incomes, from under $39,000 to over $100,000.  They ranged in age from 25 years to more than 60 years and were relatively educated, over half with a bachelor’s degree or greater.  Their greatest environmental concerns were about use of genetically modified organism (GMOs) (74.6 percent; n=178), and overuse of chemical pesticides (85.3 percent; n=168) and fertilizers (78.8 percent; n=156). Respondents valued plant quality over any one plant-container type, with greater than two-thirds somewhat likely to highly likely to purchase containers identified as either reusable/recyclable (73.5 percent; n=150), biodegradable (76.0 percent; n=152), compostable (75.8 percent; n=141), or fertilizing as the plant grows (65.1 percent; n=125). Overall, most were willing to purchase any of these container types, as long as it could be demonstrated that they improved or were neutral to plant health and the environment. Respondent willingness to pay extra for biorenewable plant containers was income-dependent (p<0.05), and respondents were more willing to pay extra for a container that fertilizes the plant as it grows than for any other container type. Our data enabled us to create income-based profiles of potential purchasers of biorenewable consumers in Nevada. The Nevada survey will serve as a model for a nationwide survey to further define and segment markets for biorenewable plant containers.