Abstract
This study investigates consumer acceptance of cosmetics containing upcycled ingredients - by-products and waste transformed into higher-value inputs - a key strategy for the cosmetics industry’s circular economy goals. Despite their growing importance, consumer perceptions remain poorly understood. To explore these perceptions, we conducted 33 in-depth interviews with UK consumers. The interviews were guided by the FRASE framework (Familiarity, Reflection, Articulation, Sentiment, Engagement), a novel scaffold developed for this research to capture both cognitive and affective responses. Data were analyzed using both thematic and discursive approaches to uncover not only recurring concerns but also the linguistic construction of meaning. Our findings reveal that consumers navigate the adoption of these products through a dynamic pathway of sensemaking, trust-building, and conditional adoption. Thematic analysis identified key recurring concerns, including definition clarity, risk-benefit evaluation, trust in brands and processes, price fairness, and moral identity. Discursive analysis revealed how specific language - such as metaphors, evaluative language, hedging, and identity positioning - shaped these perceptions. These insights inform the development of the Sense-Trust-Adopt (STA) model, which conceptualizes consumer adoption as a dynamic pathway from initial interpretation (sensemaking) to building trust, and finally to trial. The model highlights how this process is moderated by context and perceived risk. This research contributes theoretically by integrating sensemaking and discourse into models of sustainable consumption, methodologically by introducing the FRASE framework for exploring emergent sustainability categories, and practically by providing strategies to foster greater consumer acceptance of upcycled cosmetics.
Presenters
Marta SzabanAssistant Professor, Strategic Management, Poznań University of Economics and Business, Wielkopolskie, Poland
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Economic, Social, and Cultural Context
KEYWORDS
Sustainable consumption, Upcycled cosmetics, Consumer perception, Circular economy
