The influence of internal and external factors on the purchase intention of carbon-labeled products

The promotion of carbon-labeled products (CLP) is beneficial for energy conservation and emission reduction. However, the level of adoption of CLP by consumers is still relatively low in China, and a low-carbon consumption environment has not yet been fully established. Therefore, understanding the determinants of consumers' willingness to purchase CLP is crucial to guiding them toward low-carbon consumption and achieving carbon emission reduction goals. Given the question, this study utilizes the Partial Least Squares Structural Equations (PLS-SEM) to predict the effects of internal psychological factors (environmental concern, cognition, trust, and attitude toward carbon-labeled products) and external contextual factors (command-and-control policy, economic incentive, and information provision policy) on purchase intention, combining data from 482 respondents' questionnaires. The results show that trust and attitude have a significant effect on purchase intention, while cognition and environmental concern do not. Attitude mediates the relationship between environmental concern, trust, and purchase intention. Furthermore, all three types of policy measures have a positive effect on purchase intention. Additionally, the PLS-MGA results reveal differences in the cognition and purchase intention paths across gender groups.