<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Forest certifications aim to promote sustainable forest management through the certification of forest products derived from forests managed according to a set of guidelines. However, managing a forest following the sustainability benchmarks indicated by the different certification systems has a higher cost than non-certified forests. This cost difference is therefore reflected in products made from these certified forests. An <italic>Environmentally Certified Timber Product</italic> (ECTP), in fact, should be more expensive than its identical competitor made from non-certified wood because of its higher management and chain of custody costs. The purpose of this review is to highlight how, over the past decade (2010–2020), customer willingness to pay (WTP) for ECTPs has been estimated and what parameters lead consumers to choose ECTPs. Results revealed several methodologies for estimating WTP, the main one being Contingent Valuation, although Discrete Choice Experiments would seem to be more effective. In monetary terms, the average WTP obtained ranges from 17% for products with a higher base price, such as furniture, up to 68% for those with a lower price, such as paper. Finally, several parameters drive consumers to choose ECTPs, such as socio-demographic factors, prior knowledge of brands and labels, and choice of product attributes.</p>
</abstract>

Forest certifications aim to promote sustainable forest management through the certification of forest products derived from forests managed according to a set of guidelines. However, managing a forest following the sustainability benchmarks indicated by the different certification systems has a higher cost than non-certified forests. This cost difference is therefore reflected in products made from these certified forests. An Environmentally Certified Timber Product (ECTP), in fact, should be more expensive than its identical competitor made from non-certified wood because of its higher management and chain of custody costs. The purpose of this review is to highlight how, over the past decade (2010–2020), customer willingness to pay (WTP) for ECTPs has been estimated and what parameters lead consumers to choose ECTPs. Results revealed several methodologies for estimating WTP, the main one being Contingent Valuation, although Discrete Choice Experiments would seem to be more effective. In monetary terms, the average WTP obtained ranges from 17% for products with a higher base price, such as furniture, up to 68% for those with a lower price, such as paper. Finally, several parameters drive consumers to choose ECTPs, such as socio-demographic factors, prior knowledge of brands and labels, and choice of product attributes.

Willingness to pay for certified wooden products: a critical literature review

Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (DISAFA)

Forestry Studies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"Willingness to pay for certified wooden products: a critical literature review"}

Forest certifications aim to promote sustainable forest management through the certification of forest products derived from forests managed according to a set...

Willingness to pay for certified wooden products: a critical literature review

Article Category: Review paper

Published Online: Feb 20, 2023

Page range: 46 - 63

Received: May 10, 2022

Accepted: Sep 20, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/fsmu-2022-0003

Keywords
voluntary certifications, forest certifications, WTP, consumer, critical review

© 2022 Francesca Poratelli et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Willingness to pay for certified wooden products: a critical literature review

Article Category: Review paper

Published Online: Feb 20, 2023

Page range: 46 - 63

Received: May 10, 2022

Accepted: Sep 20, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/fsmu-2022-0003

Keywordsvoluntary certifications, forest certifications, WTP, consumer, critical review

© 2022 Francesca Poratelli et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Keywords
voluntary certifications, forest certifications, WTP, consumer, critical review