PUYALLUP, Wash. - The average person might be willing to pay a 10% premium for vehicle tires labeled as "salmon safe," according to a new study led by Washington State University.
Several years ago, a paper co-led by WSU scientists found that a chemical compound called 6PPD, used to keep tires from breaking down too quickly, is toxic to coho salmon. When tire debris in the road ends up in freshwater streams, the chemical can kill the fish.
Tire manufacturers are working on new formulations that would eliminate the compound. WSU economists wanted to know how much people would voluntarily pay if they knew the price increase helped keep coho alive.
Their findings are published in the journal Marine Resource Economics.
"The tire doesn't exist yet, but we wanted to know how the general population might value the tire after it's been developed," said Joe Cook, a professor in WSU's School of Economic Sciences and lead author of the new study. "As the tire industry explores reformulation, we hope this demonstrates there is a potential market for 'eco-labeled' tires."
The study was funded by the nonprofit Salmon Safe, which provides "salmon safe" certifications to products like wine and beer and organizations like farms and construction contractors.
Cook and co-author Wisnu Sugiarto, a professor at Whitman College and a former WSU graduate student, surveyed nearly 700 people living in California, Oregon and Washington. They found that the median premium - meaning half of survey respondents would pay more and half would pay less - was 10% above the price that respondents most recently reported paying for tires. That works out to about $76 more for a set of four tires.
"Studies like this are important for groups who care about salmon and for members of the tire industry," said Raj Khosla, Cashup Davis Family Endowed Dean of WSU's College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences. "It's helpful for all groups to know the economic impacts of salmon-safe tires and I appreciate that WSU is well-placed to do this valuable work."
The researchers were surprised that some people would be willing to pay significantly more.
"Approximately 25% of people said they would pay a premium of $225 for a set of four salmon-safe tires," said Cook, who is based out of WSU's Puyallup Research and Extension Center. "This shows that protecting salmon is very important for a sizeable group of consumers in the three states."
The scientists hope to continue doing more work on the economic impact of removing the chemical from tires.
"This study is about voluntary eco-labeling for a hypothetical product," Cook said. "We aren't saying that prices would go up this amount if 6PPD is regulated out of tires - that ultimately would depend on what it costs for tire manufacturers to reformulate and how competitive the tire industry is.
"Our results couldn't be used in a benefit-cost analysis of a state or federal regulation," he continued. "That would require a different survey approach, but we would be excited to look at that and well-placed to do that work."
