Consumer value dimensions for sustainable wood products: results from the Finnish retail sector

Our study focuses on exploring on the dimensionality of sustainability in perceived consumer value regarding wooden products in the Finnish context. Factors affecting consumer value on sustainability were derived from the literature on sustainable consumption and tested on a specific case of wooden terrace products through a developed survey instrument. The dimensions of sustainability-based consumer value were identified using a factor analysis on data consisting of 208 responses collected in the home and building material retail sector in May–June 2013. Four-dimensional structure for consumer value concerning sustainable and responsible wooden products is identified to consist of “Information and product origin,” “Consumer activity,” “Product image,” and “Quality.” The first two, sustainability-related factors were more strongly valued by elderly as well as by female respondents, while “Quality” and “Image” were more preferred by young and middle-aged respondent groups. As for the conclusion, our results suggest that improving the sustainability information content, launching awareness campaigns and environmental education as well as applying greenness as a complementary product attribute would be some of the solutions to attract larger consumer groups.