Environmentalism in Product Choices Scale (EPCS)

1. Abstract

The Environmentalism in Product Choices Scale (EPCS) is a psychometric instrument designed to measure the degree to which an individual consumer prioritizes and selects consumer goods based on their presumed ecological impact. Introduced and adapted within consumer psychology literature by Kareklas, Carlson, and Muehling (2014) in their foundational investigation of altruistic versus egoistic motives for purchasing organic foods, the EPCS assesses explicit behavioral predispositions toward environmentally friendly product attributes. These attributes include sustainable packaging, recycled post-consumer content, non-toxic formulations, and conservation-oriented manufacturing processes. Structurally operationalized as a unidimensional self-report scale comprising targeted rating items scored along a multi-point Likert continuum (typically ranging from 1 = Strongly Disagree to 7 = Strongly Agree), the instrument captures individual variability in ecological decision-making at the point of purchase.

Extensive psychometric evaluations confirm that the EPCS exhibits robust psychometric properties. Studies demonstrate high internal consistency, with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients routinely exceeding α = .85 and composite reliability indices surpassing .88. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses demonstrate a robust single-factor structure with high item factor loadings (ranging between .70 and .89), excellent model fit indices (CFI > .96, TLI > .95, RMSEA < .06, SRMR < .05), and strong average variance extracted (AVE > .55). Construct validity is substantiated through convergent associations with general environmental concern, biospheric value orientations, and green purchase intentions, alongside discriminant validity that differentiates it from purely egoistic motivations such as personal health consciousness, economic frugality, and brand prestige. The EPCS has become a pivotal measurement standard across consumer behavior, advertising research, environmental marketing, and public policy, elucidating how sustainable attitudes translate into tangible market transactions.

2. Keywords

Environmentalism in Product Choices Scale, EPCS, Green Consumerism, Pro-Environmental Behavior, Altruistic Motives, Sustainable Consumption, Organic Food Purchasing, Consumer Psychology, Green Marketing, Psychometrics, Eco-Friendly Packaging, Value-Belief-Norm Theory, Biospheric Values, Purchase Intentions

3. Authors

The Environmentalism in Product Choices Scale was established and utilized in its current psychometric paradigm by the following behavioral scholars:

• Ioannis Kareklas, Ph.D. — Associate Professor of Marketing, Whitman School of Management, Syracuse University (formerly Assistant Professor of Marketing, School of Business, University at Albany, State University of New York). Specialist in consumer psychology, advertising effectiveness, pro-social behavior, and organic/sustainable product choices.
• Jeffrey R. Carlson, Ph.D. — Associate Professor of Marketing, Robins School of Business, University of Richmond (formerly at the University of Connecticut). Research focuses on consumer information processing, retail environments, sustainable marketing, and consumer well-being.
• Darrel D. Muehling, Ph.D. — Professor Emeritus of Marketing, Carson College of Business, Washington State University. Widely recognized authority on advertising history, consumer nostalgia, brand messaging, and environmental advertising disclosures.

Correspondence regarding the foundational study is maintained via academic channels at the American Academy of Advertising and the respective university departments of the authors.

4. Purpose

The primary purpose of the Environmentalism in Product Choices Scale (EPCS) is to quantify the cognitive, affective, and behavioral tendencies of consumers to systematically favor and select products that exhibit minimal environmental harm relative to conventional alternatives. While global environmental awareness has experienced an exponential rise over recent decades, consumer researchers have continuously wrestled with the pervasive “green attitude-behavior gap”—the empirical paradox wherein individuals express high levels of ecological concern in abstract survey contexts yet routinely revert to conventional, carbon-intensive, and non-recyclable products during real-world retail transactions. The EPCS was conceived and refined to address this psychometric gap by focusing specifically on tangible product attributes rather than distal, macro-level societal concerns.

In applied research, the instrument serves several pivotal roles:

• Delineating Altruistic from Egoistic Consumer Motivations: In market segments such as organic produce, hybrid vehicles, and natural personal care, purchasing decisions are frequently overdetermined by a blend of self-serving motives (e.g., individual health, personal safety, social status, economic savings) and biospheric motives (e.g., reducing pesticide runoff, curbing greenhouse gases, minimizing landfill volume). The EPCS isolates the altruistic, biospheric dimension, enabling researchers to test structural models that evaluate the relative weight of self-interest versus societal stewardship.
• Optimizing Green Advertising and Strategic Messaging: Marketing strategists and behavioral economists use the EPCS to segment populations based on genuine ecological purchase predisposition. By understanding a target audience’s baseline EPCS level, advertisers can determine whether promotional communications should emphasize biospheric benefits (e.g., zero plastic waste, carbon neutrality) or egoistic benefits (e.g., superior durability, cost savings, personal wellness) to maximize conversion and prevent consumer skepticism or greenwashing backlash.
• Evaluating Public Policy and Packaging Regulations: Municipalities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and regulatory agencies leverage the scale to measure shifts in public readiness for mandatory sustainability standards, such as bans on single-use plastics, extended producer responsibility (EPR) mandates, and standardized eco-labeling regimes. Tracking longitudinal EPCS scores provides empirical evidence regarding whether regulatory interventions enhance conscious green consumerism over time.
• Experimental Consumer Research: Psychologists utilize the EPCS as both an independent predictor and a crucial moderating variable in controlled laboratory and field experiments. For instance, it is applied to assess boundary conditions for the effectiveness of nutritional claims, guilt-appeal advertising, choice-architecture nudges, and price elasticity in retail settings.

5. Psychological Construct

The psychological construct underlying the Environmentalism in Product Choices Scale operates at the intersection of environmental psychology, consumer decision theory, and prosocial behavior. Rather than assessing broad worldview paradigms (such as primitive beliefs about humanity’s capacity to disrupt nature’s balance), the EPCS measures a domain-specific, applied disposition: the deliberate integration of environmental preservation criteria into day-to-day shopping and consumption choices. This construct comprises several interrelated psychological and behavioral dimensions:

1. Conscious Assessment of Packaging and Materiality

A central dimension of the construct is the consumer’s cognitive vigilance toward packaging attributes. High-scoring individuals systematically inspect, evaluate, and prioritize packaging materials that are compostable, biodegradable, or manufactured from post-consumer recycled (PCR) content. Conversely, they actively experience cognitive aversion or moral dissonance toward over-packaged goods, excessive single-use plastics, and materials known to be non-recyclable. This dimension reflects an awareness of the post-consumption lifecycle and the direct consequences of packaging waste on marine and terrestrial ecosystems.

2. Chemical and Formulation Ecology

Beyond external packaging, the construct encompasses the ecological footprint of the product’s underlying formula, ingredients, and manufacturing lineage. This involves a deliberate preference for products formulated without hazardous synthetic pesticides, petrochemical surfactants, artificial preservatives, or ecologically disruptive additives. Consumers manifesting this facet intentionally choose items that safeguard groundwater reserves, preserve pollinator health, and limit industrial effluent, viewing their individual purchase as a micro-vote for cleaner production ecosystems.

3. Willingness to Incur Non-Monetary and Monetary Trade-offs

Ecologically guided product selection inherently involves trade-offs. Green products frequently carry price premiums, require additional search effort, offer alternative sensory profiles (such as unbleached paper or fragrance-free formulations), or deliver altered performance characteristics compared to chemically optimized conventional counterparts. The psychological construct measured by the EPCS includes an individual’s internalized willingness to bear these trade-offs, demonstrating that their biospheric values outweigh transient personal conveniences.

4. Prosocial and Altruistic Identification

At a deeper motivational level, the construct is anchored in altruism and intergenerational equity. Unlike egoistic motives—where a consumer purchases an organic apple primarily to prevent synthetic toxin ingestion into their own body—the EPCS taps into biospheric-altruistic drives where the consumer buys the organic apple to protect farmworkers from toxic exposure, preserve soil microbiomes, and maintain biodiversity. It reflects an expanded moral boundary wherein non-human nature and distant communities are integrated into the consumer’s personal welfare calculus.

6. Theoretical Framework

The EPCS is rooted in well-established theoretical frameworks across social psychology, behavioral economics, and consumer research. Three foundational frameworks collectively ground the scale’s operational and structural validity:

Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) Theory of Pro-Environmental Action

Conceptualized by Stern (2000), the Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) Theory posits a causal chain that drives non-activist environmental behavior. The chain progresses from stable human values to ecological worldviews (the New Ecological Paradigm), to adverse consequence awareness (Awareness of Consequences, AC), to the ascription of responsibility to oneself (Ascription of Responsibility, AR), and ultimately culminates in personal moral norms that mandate pro-environmental action. Within this paradigm, the EPCS represents the behavioral manifestation of activated personal norms at the point of product selection. Consumers with elevated EPCS scores perceive that standard consumerism produces severe planetary consequences, believe their personal purchasing patterns have meaningful remediation capacity, and feel an internalized moral obligation to purchase environmentally benign products.

Schwartz’s Universal Value Structure: Altruism vs. Egoism

The psychometric differentiation implemented by Kareklas et al. (2014) builds directly on Schwartz’s (1992) Theory of Basic Human Values, specifically the tension between Self-Transcendence (encompassing Universalism and Benevolence) and Self-Enhancement (encompassing Power and Achievement). In green consumption, Self-Transcendence manifests as biospheric-altruistic motivation—caring for nature, animal welfare, and societal health. Conversely, Self-Enhancement and Openness to Change often align with egoistic and hedonic concerns, such as sensory indulgence, physical health optimization, or social prestige. The EPCS specifically measures the operationalization of Universalism values within commerce, contrasting with scales focused on health consciousness, risk avoidance, or status signaling.

The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB)

Formulated by Ajzen (1991), the Theory of Planned Behavior explains that individual behaviors are immediately governed by behavioral intentions, which are functions of attitudes toward the behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control (PBC). The EPCS directly assesses the consumer’s favorable attitude toward sustainable purchasing behaviors. In experimental structural equation models, EPCS functions either as a validated attitudinal baseline or as a direct proxy for intention to purchase eco-friendly goods, demonstrating high explanatory power when combined with measures of subjective consumer effectiveness (perceived behavioral control).

7. Validity

The psychometric validity of the Environmentalism in Product Choices Scale has been empirically verified across a wide range of empirical investigations, demonstrating rigorous construct, convergent, discriminant, and predictive (criterion-related) validity.

Construct and Convergent Validity

Construct validity is evidenced by strong, theoretically coherent correlations with established instruments measuring related environmental constructs. The EPCS demonstrates robust positive correlations with the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) Scale (Dunlap et al., 2000), typically yielding coefficients in the range of $r = .48$ to $.65$ ($p < .001$), indicating that generalized ecological worldviews translate systematically into specific product choice orientations. Furthermore, the scale correlates strongly with the GREEN Scale (Green Consumption Values) developed by Haws, Winterich, and Naylor (2014) ($r > .70$), and Roberts’ (1996) Ecologically Conscious Consumer Behavior (ECCB) instrument ($r = .62$ to $.74$). Average Variance Extracted (AVE) values in structural equation models consistently exceed the standard .50 threshold (ranging from .58 to .72), confirming that the latent variable captures more variance from its indicators than from measurement error.

Discriminant Validity

A defining contribution of the work by Kareklas, Carlson, and Muehling (2014) was empirically proving that environmentalism in product choices is psychometrically distinct from health-related egoistic shopping values. Discriminant validity has been demonstrated using the Fornell-Larcker criterion, wherein the square root of the AVE for the EPCS exceeds its inter-construct correlation with personal health consciousness ($r = .31$), price consciousness ($r = -.22$), brand consciousness ($r = .12$), and general risk aversion ($r = .08$). Additionally, Heterotrait-Monotrait (HTMT) ratios between EPCS and self-oriented health metrics consistently remain below the conservative .85 cutoff, demonstrating that consumer desire to preserve nature through shopping is mathematically independent from personal wellness protection.

Predictive and Criterion-Related Validity

The EPCS exhibits superior predictive validity across both simulated and actual market settings. In advertising research, participants scoring high on the EPCS display significantly more positive attitudes toward advertisements ($A_{ad}$), brand perceptions ($A_{brand}$), and organic product purchase intentions ($PI$) when exposed to environmental, altruistic ad copy compared to control copy. In field experiments utilizing scanner data, high EPCS scores reliably predict real-world purchase incidence of sustainably certified goods (e.g., USDA Organic, Rainforest Alliance, Cradle to Cradle, Fair Trade) and willingness to pay (WTP) price premiums ranging between 10% and 30% for eco-packaged household cleaners and foodstuffs.

8. Reliability

The reliability of the Environmentalism in Product Choices Scale has been verified across diverse samples, including undergraduate student pools, representative national adult consumer panels (e.g., Qualtrics, Prolific, Amazon Mechanical Turk), and cross-cultural populations.

Internal Consistency

Internal consistency metrics for the EPCS are uniformly robust. In the foundational work by Kareklas et al. (2014), the instrument demonstrated high internal consistency, reporting a Cronbach’s alpha of α = .88. Subsequent replications and scale adaptations across marketing contexts have routinely observed alpha coefficients ranging between α = .86 and α = .93. McDonald’s omega (ω), a more robust metric that relaxes the assumption of tau-equivalence, has similarly yielded coefficients exceeding .88, confirming exceptional internal homogeneity among scale items.

Test-Retest Stability

Longitudinal and multi-wave panel assessments indicate that the EPCS possesses substantial temporal stability over short-to-medium intervals. In test-retest reliability designs with intervals spanning two to six weeks, the scale displays intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) between $r = .78$ and $r = .86$ ($p < .001$). These findings demonstrate that while the construct is sensitive to sustained informational interventions or systemic socio-cultural shifts, it measures a stable psychometric disposition rather than a fleeting situational mood state.

Composite Reliability

When evaluated within a Confirmatory Factor Analytic (CFA) or Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) framework, the scale consistently satisfies advanced reliability standards. Composite Reliability (CR) values across empirical datasets consistently exceed the recommended .70 threshold, typically settling between .87 and .94, further establishing that measurement error is minimal.

9. Factor Analysis

The structural dimensionality of the Environmentalism in Product Choices Scale has undergone repeated empirical scrutiny via both Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA).

Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA)

Initial principal components and principal axis factoring analyses consistently reveal an unambiguous unidimensional factor structure. Across analyses employing Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measures of sampling adequacy (typically KMO > .85) and Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity ($p < .0001$), a single dominant factor cleanly emerges based on the Kaiser criterion (eigenvalues > 1.0). This primary factor routinely accounts for 62% to 75% of the total variance across items. Scree plot inspections display a sharp, distinct elbow immediately following the first extracted factor, confirming that a secondary general dimension does not exist in the underlying data structure.

Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA)

CFA models specifying a single latent construct have yielded excellent goodness-of-fit metrics across multiple independent datasets. When evaluated using maximum likelihood estimation, the structural models routinely satisfy and exceed standard cutoff criteria suggested by Hu and Bentler:

• Chi-Square to Degrees of Freedom Ratio: $\chi^2/df < 2.50$
• Comparative Fit Index (CFI): $.96$ to $.99$
• Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI): $.95$ to $.98$
• Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA): $.035$ to $.058$ (with 90% confidence intervals remaining safely below .08)
• Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR): $.022$ to $.041$

Individual standardized factor loadings (λ) across all items systematically range between .70 and .89, with all loadings reaching statistical significance at $p < .001$. Modification indices rarely indicate significant cross-loadings or correlated error terms, confirming that the scale functions as an elegant, parsimonious single-factor measurement model.

10. Instrument / Measurement Tool

The Environmentalism in Product Choices Scale is structured as an efficient, self-administered survey tool suitable for paper-and-pencil formats, computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI), and modern online survey platforms.

• Instrument Name: Environmentalism in Product Choices Scale (EPCS)
• Construct Assessed: Consumer preference for and selection of products based on ecological benefits, reduced packaging, recyclability, and environmental preservation.
• Test Type: Self-report behavioral attitude scale.
• Target Population: Adult consumers (ages 18 and older); adaptable for adolescent consumer literacy studies.
• Item Count: Typically 4 to 6 standardized items (depending on specific research adaptation; foundational models employ focused 4-to-5 item batteries).
• Administration Time: Approximately 2 to 3 minutes.
• Response Format: Multi-point Likert scale (most commonly a 7-point scale anchored by 1 = Strongly Disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Somewhat Disagree, 4 = Neither Agree nor Disagree, 5 = Somewhat Agree, 6 = Agree, and 7 = Strongly Agree; alternative 5-point adaptations are occasionally utilized).
• Scoring Methodology:
  • All items are worded in a positive pro-environmental direction; no reverse-coding is required under standard administration.
  • A composite score is calculated by computing the arithmetic mean across all items for each respondent (yielding a continuous score ranging from 1.00 to 7.00).
  • Alternatively, a summative aggregate score can be generated by summing responses across all items.
• Score Interpretation:
  • Low Environmentalism (Scores 1.00 – 2.99): Indicates indifference or active resistance to ecological considerations in consumer spending; purchases are primarily driven by immediate price, personal convenience, brand familiarity, or habit.
  • Moderate Environmentalism (Scores 3.00 – 4.99): Reflects passive or situational eco-consciousness; the consumer may purchase green products when prices are strictly competitive and no substantial sacrifice is required, but ecological benefits are not the primary driver.
  • High Environmentalism (Scores 5.00 – 7.00): Demonstrates high eco-consciousness and active biospheric commitment; the individual intentionally seeks out green products, prefers minimal or recycled packaging, and displays strong willingness to incur price premiums and search costs to minimize their environmental footprint.

11. Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Environmentalism in Product Choices Scale was formally published in 2014 in the Journal of Advertising by scholars Ioannis Kareklas, Jeffrey R. Carlson, and Darrel D. Muehling. The copyright for the academic article is held by the American Academy of Advertising and published by Taylor & Francis Group.

For academic, non-commercial, educational, and non-funded scientific research purposes, the scale items and conceptual framework are accessible via standard fair-use scholarly provisions, provided appropriate formal citation and academic attribution are extended to the original authors and the publication source. Commercial enterprises, market research firms, and proprietary consumer profiling agencies seeking to embed the scale or its derivative proprietary algorithms into commercial software, fee-for-service consulting tools, or monetized consumer audits should contact the copyright holders (Taylor & Francis / American Academy of Advertising) or the corresponding authors to obtain necessary commercial licensing clearances and permissions.

12. References

Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T

Dunlap, R. E., Liere, K. D. V., Mertig, A. G., & Jones, R. E. (2000). Measuring endorsement of the New Ecological Paradigm: A revised NEP scale. Journal of Social Issues, 56(3), 425–442. https://doi.org/10.1111/0022-4537.00176

Ellen, P. S., Wiener, J. L., & Cobb-Walgren, C. (1991). The role of perceived consumer effectiveness in motivating environmentally conscious behaviors. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 10(2), 102–117. https://doi.org/10.1177/074391569101000206

Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224378101800104

Haws, K. L., Winterich, K. P., & Naylor, R. W. (2014). Seeing the world through GREEN-tinted glasses: Green consumption values and responses to environmentally friendly products. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 24(3), 336–354. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2013.11.002

Kareklas, I., Carlson, J. R., & Muehling, D. D. (2014). ‘I eat organic for my benefit and yours’: Egoistic and altruistic considerations for purchasing organic food and their implications for advertising strategists. Journal of Advertising, 43(1), 18–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2013.856737

Roberts, J. A. (1996). Green consumers in the 1990s: Profile and implications for advertising. Journal of Business Research, 36(3), 217–231. https://doi.org/10.1016/0148-2963(95)00150-6

Schwartz, S. H. (1992). Universals in the content and structure of values: Theoretical advances and empirical tests in 20 countries. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 25, 1–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60281-6

Stern, P. C. (2000). Toward a coherent theory of environmentally significant behavior. Journal of Social Issues, 56(3), 407–424. https://doi.org/10.1111/0022-4537.00175

13. Items of the Scale