Sustainable consumption is a complex undertaking, made no less complex by the wide variety of materials available, manufacturing processes used, and circularity options (or lack thereof).  Thus, consumers must make decisions that are often based on very little information or experience. In the beginning of this project, we are conducting a multinational online consumer survey in order to form a description of the market as it pertains to opinions about and acceptance of products containing xylans.

Our consumer survey is intended to begin the process of understanding how people think about making sustainable choices, and how their previous knowledge and subsequent education might affect these choices. Along with general demographic information (gender, age, country of residence), we will collect their education level as standardised by the European Qualifications Framework (EQF). Participants will respond to questions about their ethical behaviour as consumers, their openness to trying new things, their familiarity with a variety of plant polymers and their applications, and their feelings about the safety, sustainability and efficacy of such applications after being provided with a short informational text.

The results of this study are expected to assist with the eventual packaging, marketing and informational strategy to accelerate the acceptance of xylan based products by a wider market once they are shown to be feasible.