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Consumers often rate a company as more sustainable when it adds a visible “green” feature than when it quietly removes waste—even when the removal saves more resources. A nine-study program published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science calls this pattern the sustainable additive bias.
What the nine studies found
The article “The more, the better? The sustainable additive bias,” by Lemarié, Acuti, Pizzetti and Viglia, was published on 10 September 2026. Across seven online studies, one laboratory study and one field study, participants evaluated sustainability choices in hospitality, events and consumer products. The University of Bath’s summary, published 14 October 2026, says the program covered hotels, conferences, festivals, trade shows and products; one hotel experiment included 302 guests.
Across these settings, people commonly judged an offer more sustainable when it included an identifiable eco-friendly component—such as bamboo cutlery, a reusable bottle or eco-friendly toiletries—than when it removed an unnecessary or disposable component. The preference appeared even where removal reduced material use or waste more substantially.
This is a perception effect, not evidence that adding an item has a lower lifecycle impact. The studies show how people assess sustainability, not that every added “green” product is environmentally beneficial.
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Why an addition can look greener than a reduction
Visible effort becomes a shortcut
The researchers identify perceived environmental effort as the central mechanism. A new product gives customers something concrete to see, handle and remember. They may infer that the company spent money, design time or operational effort to become greener. Removing an item leaves no physical object behind, so the same effort is less visible.
Removal is judged differently by component type
The asymmetry is not universal. When the component is a traditional, clearly less-environmentally-friendly one, consumers do recognize its removal as sustainable. The additive preference is most evident when the alternative being added is itself presented as eco-friendly and the removed item is unnecessary or less salient.
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Familiar sustainability symbols matter
Prototypical cues—objects people already associate with sustainability—can narrow the perception gap. A reusable bottle may immediately signal environmental intent, while “we eliminated an extra layer of packaging” requires an explanation to make its benefit legible.
Addition versus removal: what changes in practice
| Strategy | Objective resource or waste effect | What consumers can see | Likely effort inference | Main risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Add an eco-friendly component | May reduce impact if it replaces a real disposable need; may increase material use if unnecessary | High: a physical product or feature is present | Often high because the investment is obvious | Encouraging additional consumption or accumulating duplicates |
| Remove an unnecessary or resource-intensive component | Often directly reduces materials, production, transport or waste | Low: the absent item is easy to overlook | Can be underestimated unless the reason is explained | Customers may mistake a leaner offer for reduced service |
| Remove a traditional, less-eco-friendly component | Usually improves the material or waste profile | Medium to high when the old item is familiar | More readily recognized as sustainable | Customers may still need clear information about the replacement or benefit |
Examples from hotels, events and products
Hotel toiletries and packaging
A hotel could add eco-friendly toiletries or bamboo cutlery. It could instead eliminate single-use toiletries, reduce paper packaging or avoid supplying items guests do not need. The added products are easier for a guest to notice, but the reduction may prevent more production and waste. The hotel can make the reduction visible by stating what was removed, why it was unnecessary and what resource or waste consequence follows.
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Reusable bottles, cups and bags
A reusable bottle is a sound intervention when it replaces a recurring disposable-bottle habit and is used for a long time. Buying another bottle for a cupboard already full of them does not automatically improve sustainability. The same caution applies to reusable cups and tote bags: the object’s label does not establish a lower lifecycle impact, and producing and distributing more units than people need can become overconsumption.
Conferences, festivals and trade shows
Event organizers can add visible “green” merchandise, but eliminating single-use materials, unnecessary print runs or surplus items may have a larger direct effect. If organizers communicate those removals at registration, on signage and after the event, attendees receive evidence of the work that would otherwise remain invisible.
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How businesses can avoid the perception trap
- Measure the physical change first. Account for materials, production, transport, use and end-of-life consequences before treating an addition as sustainable.
- Ask whether the item replaces a real need. An added reusable product has a plausible benefit only when it displaces a disposable alternative or another material-intensive practice.
- Explain reductions explicitly. Tell customers what was removed, the reason for removing it and the expected resource or waste benefit.
- Make absence legible without overstating it. A short message such as “We removed unnecessary paper packaging to use fewer materials” connects the operational decision to its environmental purpose.
- Track demand and duplication. Free giveaways can create inventories of barely used bottles, bags or accessories; limit quantities and offer items only where they serve an established use.
- Use familiar cues carefully. A recognizable sustainability symbol can attract attention, but it should support—not replace—credible information about what changed.
What consumers should do
- Prefer using an existing durable item over acquiring another “eco” product.
- Buy a reusable bottle or cup when it will replace a specific, repeated disposable purchase and keep using it.
- Look for evidence of avoided materials, waste or unnecessary production, not just a green label.
- When an item disappears from a service, check whether the provider explains the environmental reason and offers a practical alternative if needed.
What the study does—and does not—show
The nine studies establish a recurring judgment pattern across several contexts, with the field evidence including hotel guests. They do not provide a universal lifecycle ranking for every additive product, nor do they show that all removals are preferable. The environmental result depends on the specific materials, replacement behavior, use duration and disposal system. The study’s key contribution is showing that consumer impressions can diverge from those objective effects when visible additions are treated as proof of effort.
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