Understanding Young Consumers’ Interaction with Recycled Packaging: Strategic Insights for Green Marketing Communication

Sustainable consumption is increasingly prioritized worldwide, yet in emerging markets such as Vietnam, the adoption of green purchasing, especially based on recyclable packaging, remains inconsistent. This study examines how three information-processing factors, recycling consideration, argument quality, and semiotic knowledge, shape young consumers’ attitudes, and how these attitudes subsequently influence purchase intention and positive emotions. A structured survey of 400 retail shoppers in Can Tho City was conducted and analysed using structural equation modeling (SEM). Results show that all three antecedents significantly and positively affect attitudes, which in turn exert strong effects on both purchase intention and emotional response. Notably, semiotic knowledge, the ability to decode environmental symbols – emerges as an important and previously underexplored predictor, extending the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) framework by incorporating a symbolic–emotional pathway. The findings offer theoretical insight by integrating TRA with Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) to explain both cognitive and affective mechanisms in green consumption. Practically, the study highlights the need for clearer recycling communication, standardised eco-labeling, and packaging designs that combine credible arguments with interpretable visual cues to enhance trust and drive sustainable purchasing behaviour.