Consumers Will Trade Product Design, But Not Product Function, For Environmental Friendliness

From "Is it earth-friendly? Study shows consumers think beyond form and function" on SclenceBlog:

That study reveals that customers are willing to trade esthetic values — how good the design looks — for environmental friendliness, but will not make the same bargain when it comes to how well the product functions.

"When you’re designing a product, you don’t want to give up functionality for the sake of altruistic value," [SF State Associate Professor of Marketing Minu] Kumar said. "But you can potentially invest a little more in altruism than esthetics and still get away with it."***[STUDIES]
"Beyond form and function: why do consumers value product design?" by Kumar and Charles H. Noble was published online in 2015 in the Journal of Business Research and appears in the journal’s February 2016 issue. The research was funded by the Marketing Science Institute. "Yes, but this other one looks better/works better: how do consumers respond to trade-offs between sustainability and other valued attributes?" by Michael G. Luchs and Kumar was published online in 2015 in the Journal of Business Ethnics and will appear in a future print edition.