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

Małgorzata Szafranowicz; Halina Brdulak; Tomasz Napiórkowski

doi:10.2478/ijme-2026-0003

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

International Journal of Management and Economics

Volume 62 (2026): Issue 1 (March 2026)

By: Małgorzata Szafranowicz , Halina Brdulak and Tomasz Napiórkowski

Open Access

|Apr 2026

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.

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Articles in this issue

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ijme-2026-0003 | Journal eISSN: 2543-5361 | Journal ISSN: 2299-9701

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Language: English

Page range: 12 - 23

Submitted on: Aug 3, 2024

Accepted on: Mar 17, 2026

Published on: Apr 21, 2026

Published by: Warsaw School of Economics

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Publication frequency: 4 issues per year

Keywords:

Cosmetics,

Sustainable packaging,

Consumers choices,

Determinants of sustainable choices,

Eco-awareness

Related subjects:

Business and economics,

Political economics,

Economic theory, systems and structures,

Business management,

Management accounting, financial controlling, cost calculation, investment

© 2026 Małgorzata Szafranowicz, Halina Brdulak, Tomasz Napiórkowski, published by Warsaw School of Economics
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Volume 62 (2026): Issue 1 (March 2026)