Authors: Katherine F. Nelson, Katherine Fu
Sustainable products can carry social meanings that affect whether people want to buy or use them. Prior research has identified a “green-feminine stereotype,” in which environmentally friendly products and behaviors are sometimes viewed as feminine. That prior work has also shown that when men experience a threat to their gender identity, they may avoid products or behaviors associated with femininity. We explored whether this pattern affects how people respond to smartwatch designs with different sustainability and accessibility features. In a study of 197 people, participants were asked to recall either two or eight times when they had felt masculine or feminine; recalling two examples was intended to affirm their gender identity, while the greater difficulty of recalling eight was used to induce uncertainty, or threat, based on a previously validated approach. Participants described their gender identity on a scale from feminine to masculine that included a midpoint for “both or neither”; nonbinary participants and those who did not disclose their gender were included in the study, and participants selecting the midpoint were randomly assigned among the four study conditions. Participants then rated smartwatch concepts that varied in their environmental and inclusive design features, lifestyle messaging, and visual styling; overall, environmentally focused designs received the highest ratings, but men whose gender identity had been challenged responded less favorably to sustainable designs, especially those combining environmental and inclusive features, while women’s preferences remained comparatively stable. These findings suggest that presenting sustainability through broadly appealing qualities such as performance, durability, and technical innovation may help reduce gendered associations and make sustainable products feel relevant to more people.
Fig. 1. Representative smartwatch concepts and key findings.
Ecodesign received the highest average ratings across groups. Gender threat was associated with lower ratings among men, especially for Universal-Eco concepts, while women’s Universal-Eco ratings did not significantly change.