The global sourcing of green products

• 成果类型: Article; Early Access
• 署名作者: Berry, Heather; Chauvin, Jasmina; Cheng, Yuxi (Lance); Lee, Narae
• 署名单位: Georgetown University; University of Texas System; University of Texas at San Antonio; Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST)
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS STUDIES
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2506
• DOI: 10.1057/s41267-025-00801-2
• 发表日期: 2025
• 关键词: Pollution haven effect; multinationals; Green product; Global supply chain strategy; GRAND CHALLENGES; sustainable development

摘要

Recent years have seen a rise in global trade of green products-those designed to minimize environmental harm compared to traditional alternatives. In this study, we examine the relevance of pollution haven effects-i.e., shifts of production toward countries with less stringent environmental standards-in firms' global sourcing strategies for green products. Given the importance of credible and sustainable manufacturing practices in firms' global value chains for green products, we expect that country environmental standards shape global sourcing decisions for green versus non-green products differently. Our findings using data on global imports and exports for more than 5000 distinct products over the 2002-2019 period show that green products are more likely to be sourced from countries with higher environmental stringency, whereas non-green product sourcing patterns align with prior research, which emphasizes the appeal of lower environmental standards and cost-efficiency. This green sourcing effect is stronger for consumer-facing products and for sourcing into countries where consumer engagement in environmentalism is higher and non-governmental organizations are more active. Unlike prior research that implies that higher environmental standards hurt exporters, our results suggest that such standards can benefit green product exporters. In recent years, the trade of green products-those designed to be more environmentally friendly-has increased globally. This study explores how environmental regulations in different countries affect where companies source these green products. The authors investigate whether firms prefer to source green products from countries with stricter environmental standards, as opposed to non-green products, which are often sourced from countries with less stringent regulations. The study finds that green products are more likely to be sourced from countries with higher environmental standards, especially when these products are consumer-facing and when sourced into countries with active environmental organizations. This article uses data from the United Nations Comtrade Database, which includes global trade information for over 5000 products from 2002 to 2019. The researchers combined this data with the Environmental Performance Index (EPI), which measures a country's environmental policies and performance. They created a list of green products by compiling lists from international organizations. The study uses statistical models to analyze how changes in a country's environmental stringency affect the sourcing of green versus non-green products. The authors also consider factors like consumer engagement in environmentalism and the presence of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the importing countries. The results show that as a country's environmental regulations become stricter, the sourcing of non-green products from that country decreases, supporting the pollution haven hypothesis. However, the sourcing of green products increases with higher environmental standards. This effect is more pronounced for consumer goods and in countries with high environmental awareness and active NGOs. The study concludes that stricter environmental standards can benefit green product exports, challenging the notion that such standards only harm exporters. The findings suggest that demand for green products and an active civil society can help address global pollution challenges. In the future, these insights could guide policies and business strategies to promote sustainable sourcing practices.This text was initially drafted using artificial intelligence, then reviewed by the author(s) to ensure accuracy. Ces derni & egrave;res ann & eacute;es ont vu une augmentation du commerce mondial des << produits verts >> - ceux con & ccedil;us pour minimiser les dommages environnementaux par rapport aux alternatives traditionnelles. Dans cette recherche, nous examinons l'importance des impacts de havre de pollution - c'est-& agrave;-dire les d & eacute;placements de production vers des pays aux normes environnementales moins strictes - dans les strat & eacute;gies d'approvisionnement global des entreprises pour les produits verts. & Eacute;tant donn & eacute; l'importance des pratiques de fabrication cr & eacute;dibles et durables dans les cha & icirc;nes de valeur mondiales des entreprises pour les produits verts, nous pr & eacute;voyons que les normes environnementales des pays fa & ccedil;onnent diff & eacute;remment les d & eacute;cisions d'approvisionnement global pour les produits verts par rapport aux produits non verts. Bas & eacute;s sur des donn & eacute;es sur les importations et exportations mondiales de plus de 5000 produits distincts sur la p & eacute;riode 2002-2019, nos r & eacute;sultats montrent que les produits verts sont plus susceptibles d'& ecirc;tre approvisionn & eacute;s dans des pays aux normes environnementales plus strictes, tandis que les configurations d'approvisionnement pour les produits non verts s'alignent sur les recherches ant & eacute;rieures, qui mettent en avant l'attrait des normes environnementales moins exigeantes et de l'efficience de co & ucirc;ts. Cet impact d'approvisionnement vert est plus fort pour les produits destin & eacute;s aux consommateurs et pour les approvisionnements dans des pays o & ugrave; l'engagement des consommateurs en faveur de l'environnement est plus & eacute;lev & eacute; et o & ugrave; les organisations non gouvernementales sont plus actives. Contrairement aux recherches ant & eacute;rieures qui sugg & egrave;rent que des normes environnementales plus strictes nuisent aux exportateurs, nos r & eacute;sultats indiquent que de telles normes peuvent b & eacute;n & eacute;ficier aux exportateurs de produits verts. Houve um aumento, nos & uacute;ltimos anos, do com & eacute;rcio global de produtos verdes - aqueles projetados para minimizar danos ambientais em compara & ccedil;& atilde;o com alternativas tradicionais. Neste estudo, examinamos a relev & acirc;ncia dos efeitos de para & iacute;sos da polui & ccedil;& atilde;o - ou seja, a transfer & ecirc;ncia da produ & ccedil;& atilde;o para pa & iacute;ses com padr & otilde;es ambientais menos rigorosos - em estrat & eacute;gias globais de abastecimento das empresas para produtos verdes. Dada a import & acirc;ncia de pr & aacute;ticas de fabrica & ccedil;& atilde;o cr & iacute;veis e sustent & aacute;veis em cadeias de valor globais de empresas para produtos verdes, esperamos que padr & otilde;es ambientais dos pa & iacute;ses influenciem de forma distinta as decis & otilde;es de abastecimento global para produtos verdes em compara & ccedil;& atilde;o com produtos n & atilde;o verdes. Nossas descobertas, utilizando dados sobre importa & ccedil;& otilde;es e exporta & ccedil;& otilde;es globais de mais de 5.000 produtos distintos no per & iacute;odo de 2002-2019, mostram que produtos verdes t & ecirc;m maior probabilidade de serem adquiridos de pa & iacute;ses com maior rigor ambiental, enquanto os padr & otilde;es de abastecimento de produtos n & atilde;o verdes alinham-se com pesquisas anteriores, que enfatizam o apelo de padr & otilde;es ambientais mais baixos e efici & ecirc;ncia de custos. Esse efeito de abastecimento verde & eacute; mais forte para produtos voltados ao consumidor e para o abastecimento em pa & iacute;ses onde o engajamento de consumidores com o ambientalismo & eacute; maior e em que organiza & ccedil;& otilde;es n & atilde;o governamentais s & atilde;o mais ativas. Ao contr & aacute;rio de pesquisas anteriores que sugerem que padr & otilde;es ambientais mais elevados prejudicam exportadores, nossos resultados indicam que tais padr & otilde;es podem beneficiar exportadores de produtos verdes. 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