Parents
put nature in the shopping basket
Faculty of Science -
University of Copenhagen
Nothing says xmas like a giant sequoia sapling |
A new qualitative study from the University of Copenhagen indicates that naturalness is the current benchmark for consumer choice among parents.
Anne studies the child
seat description carefully. Online, she diligently scans consumer tests and
parent reviews to be certain that what she buys to protect her daughter won't
contain substances that might inadvertently do her harm.
"It actually
happens. Children bite into their seats when they've been sitting for a while.
That's why I read whatever I can online. It's where I'm most likely to discover
whether or not a particular child seat is stuffed with chemicals," says
Anne, one of the mothers interviewed in a recent study on the consumer
behaviour of parents conducted at the University of Copenhagen's Department of
Food and Resource Economics.
The researchers conducted in-depth interviews with 17 parents about considerations governing consumer choice in a world bursting with products, experts, social media and self-declared health gurus.
One consideration stood out -- naturalness, understood in the sense of organic foods or chemical additive free products.
"Parents need to
make good decisions amidst this complexity of possibilities and information.
They use naturalness as a way to mitigate the complexity and protect their
children from that which they deem to be dangerous, with danger being defined
as 'unnatural'," explains the study's main author, sociologist and Postdoc
Sidse Schoubye Andersen.
Knowledge society
makes us more critical
According to the
researcher, we feel a great deal of responsibility for our health today, and
thereby, the health of our children.
Among other reasons, this is due to an increased political focus on health, as well as our living in a knowledge society where we are bombarded by all sorts of information and have access to vast amounts of knowledge, via the internet for example.
Among other reasons, this is due to an increased political focus on health, as well as our living in a knowledge society where we are bombarded by all sorts of information and have access to vast amounts of knowledge, via the internet for example.
"This increased
amount of knowledge is a double-edged sword. While it makes us more informed,
knowledge also spawns uncertainty. This is apparent when we make decisions as
consumers. In this context, parents experience increased amounts of
responsibility on their children's behalf. Parents do not blindly trust
corporations and industry. They are noticeably skeptical about whether products
were properly tested or not," according to Sidse Schoubye Andersen.
Mother nature is not
dangerous
Today, many people
value their children being exposed to mud and dirt, and in getting dirty.
According to Schoubye Andersen, nature used to be seen as something to protect ourselves from -- for the sake of hygiene, for example.
Today, parents see exposure to 'natural' filth and grime as important, contrary to having their child come into contact with chemical substances in various products.
According to Schoubye Andersen, nature used to be seen as something to protect ourselves from -- for the sake of hygiene, for example.
Today, parents see exposure to 'natural' filth and grime as important, contrary to having their child come into contact with chemical substances in various products.
"In this naturalness
logic, products can do more harm than good, because they risk creating an
imbalance in what is natural. Parents consider their toddlers to be perfect
pieces of nature. By exposing them to large quantities of unnatural products,
they run the risk of interfering negatively with nature," says the
researcher.
While researchers
allowed parents the option of who would be interviewed, mom or dad, the
majority of respondents were mothers. Of the fathers interviewed, they often
admitted to being influenced by their partners' attitudes towards what was in
the child's best interest.
"When fathers
described household decision making, they often referred to leaning towards the
mother's views. So even though there are fathers who participate actively in
decisions about what is in their children's best interests, it is abundantly
clear that the mother has the final say," says Sidse Schoubye Andersen.