TOWARD A SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY - WASTE MINIMIZATION THROUGH ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS CONSUMING

The experiment was an educational intervention that promoted and descr ibed an ongoing environmental tagging program located in a chain of th ree local grocery stores. Model Community, a nonprofit community organ ization, originated the environmental product tagging program that was present throughout the experimental educational intervention and was also responsible for sponsoring educational efforts in the local eleme ntary schools and in the media. Over the period of a year, the experim ental intervention was expected to stimulate self-reported environment ally conscious consuming above the level generated by the tagging prog ram alone and above the levels reported by shoppers who did not shop a t the experimental stores. Environmentally conscious consuming or prec ycling implies buying products packaged in recyclable materials, buyin g least waste packaged (bulk or minimally packaged) products, and buyi ng ''safer earth'' (nontoxic or alternatives to harsh chemicals) produ cts. Contrary to expectations, there was no significant interaction ef fect of year (preintervention vs. postintervention) and group (experim ental store vs. control group) on self-reported environmentally friend ly consuming, implying that the experimental educational intervention did not have an effect. An investigation of the significant main effec t of shopping at the environmentally tagged stores showed a significan t positive effect on purchasing less toxic products, knowledge about M odel Community, and awareness of the environmental tagging program. An examination of more aggressive educational campaigns in future studie s is warranted because of more overall positive (although not signific ant) environmental shopping behaviors reported in 1990, when there was an active education program for Model Community, than in 1991, when t he program ceased.