A COMPARISON OF CONSUMER WOOD PRODUCT CERTIFICATION PERCEPTIONS AND ATTITUDES: NEW ZEALAND AND THE UNITED STATES

In this paper, six area of consumer perceptions about environmental wood products certification are compared between the United States and New Zealand. These areas are: the level of understanding of the concept of certification, beliefs in environmental claims, how certification might relate to improved forest health, purchasing of certified wood products, the willingness to pay for certified products and which entity is trusted to do the certifying. Overall, results indicate that where significant differences exist, New Zealand consumers have a stronger affinity for environmental and certification issues and are more inclined to pay a premium for certified wood products. Consumers in both countries trust their respective wood products industries the least to conduct certification procedures and trust non-governmental environmental organizations the most