Determinants of sustainable choices in the cosmetics market: A focus on packaging sustainability

Abstract The aim of this study is to examine the level of ecological awareness and to indicate determinants of consumers’ sustainable purchasing choices in the cosmetics market. The study applies the perspective of consumers and concentrates on sustainability of the packaging. The study covers research conducted mid-2022 including focus group interviews and computer-assisted web interviewing survey on a representative sample ( N = 1,006) of adult respondents living in Poland. The research proved that consumers’ ecological awareness is rising. However, sustainable packaging is not the leading driver of the cosmetics consumers’ choices. The price and limited offer of eco-friendly packed products are the main barriers of sustainable choices in cosmetics market. The cluster analysis revealed that there is no statistically significant difference between clusters in terms of age and education. Consumer’s sex and number of persons in a household appeared to be statistically important.