Manuscript Topics

Global food production is an important factor of environmental pressures, including habitat and soil loss, high greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption and degradation. At the same time, consumers are increasingly attentive to the environmental and social consequences of the foods they purchase, and these concerns significantly shape their purchase intentions. As the primary source of corporate profits, consumers play a decisive role in steering corporate strategies; guided by evolving preferences and intentions, food companies are progressively adopting sustainability and circular economy (CE) practices to reconcile profitability, consumer satisfaction, and environmental targets.
In recent years, environmental sustainability has moved from an academic concern to a central element of global policy agendas and consumer debates. Growing ecological challenges, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and resource depletion, have contributed to the rise of the “green consumer”, who increasingly incorporates environmental considerations into purchasing decisions. Consequently, green consumer behaviour has become a prominent theme in marketing, behavioural sciences, and sustainability research, reflecting broader societal movements toward responsible consumption and corporate environmental responsibility.
In this context, understanding consumer behaviour as willingness to pay (WTP), willingness to buy (WTB)/purchase intention, and purchasing behaviour for food products incorporating environmental, social, and circular economy attributes is crucial.
Despite increasing environmental awareness, research consistently shows that positive attitudes do not always translate into actual behaviour, a well-known attitude–behaviour gap. Barriers such as perceived risk, quality concerns, distrust in sustainability claims, price sensitivity, and limited product availability often inhibit consumers from purchasing green or CE-based products. These barriers are particularly relevant for circular economy goods, where the use of recovered, recycled, or upcycled materials may simultaneously evoke perceptions of environmental benefit and concerns about product quality or hygiene.
At the same time, several studies indicate that when sustainability information is communicated credibly, e.g., through reliable eco-labels, third-party certifications, or transparent corporate communication, consumers show higher WTP for products with reduced ecological impacts. However, the rapid proliferation of these tools, while potentially supportive of consumer decision-making, also raises concerns about greenwashing, which can erode trust and ultimately inhibit purchasing behaviour. Understanding how consumers interpret and react to these signals is essential for guiding effective sustainability communication and ensuring market credibility.
This Special Issue seeks to deepen understanding of how environmental attributes, circular economy practices, and sustainability-oriented innovations influence consumer preferences, WTP, WTB, and actual purchase behaviour, providing insights for producers, retailers, and policymakers.
The Special Issue aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure). By advancing knowledge on consumer responses to sustainable and circular food products, it aims to support the development of more transparent, resilient, and environmentally responsible food systems.

Topics for this Special Issue include, but are not limited to:  
• Willingness to pay and willingness to buy for environmentally sustainable, organic, local, or low-carbon foods  
• Determinants of consumer preferences for circular food products  
• Consumer acceptance and purchase intentions for Waste-to-Value (WTV) or upcycled food products  
• Effects of eco-labels, carbon labels, and sustainability certifications on food choice behavior  
• Trade-offs between convenience, taste, healthiness, and environmental attributes in food decision-making  
• Psychological, sociocultural, and behavioural drivers of sustainable food consumption, including studies using validated scales and theoretical constructs  
• Cross-country and cross-segment comparisons of WTP, WTB, and sustainable purchasing behavior  
• Policy, marketing, and business strategies to promote circular and sustainable foods  
• Case studies or empirical analyses of innovative sustainable and circular food products

Submission Types
Original research articles, reviews, and conceptual papers exploring consumer behaviour, sustainability, circular economy practices, and purchasing intentions are welcome.

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Please submit your manuscript to online submission system
https://aimspress.jams.pub/