It might be ethical, but I won't buy it: Perceived contamination of, and disgust towards, clothing made from recycled plastic bottles

Abstract A popular trend within the fashion industry is to transform recycled plastic bottles into attire, though little research has examined consumer acceptance of these items. This study integrates evolutionary perspectives on contagion, contamination, and the emotion of disgust to explore consumer perception of such goods. Across three studies, this study shows that consumers view products made from used recycled plastic bottles as contaminated, decreasing purchase intentions. Further, this contamination perception is heightened among those with high disgust sensitivity. This study also shows an important boundary condition to this effect, where consumers express greater intentions to use a product made from recycled plastic bottles when it is not touching the skin (e.g., carrying bag) compared to those that are in contact with skin (e.g., T‐shirt). Finally, this study shows how marketers can harness this effect by exploiting the evolutionary response to attractive others using the plastic bottles, which results in positive contamination and an increase in willingness to pay. In so doing, the current research is the first to show that highlighting the recycled nature of a product can actually serve as a contamination cue, adding to our theoretical understanding of perceived contamination and the resulting emotion of disgust.