The article "The Sustainability Liability: Potential Negative Effects of Ethicality on Product Preference" by Luchs, Naylor, Irwin, and Raghunathan explores the impact of product sustainability on consumer preferences. The authors argue that while sustainability is generally valued, it may not always enhance preference, especially when strength-related attributes are more important. They propose that consumers associate higher ethicality with gentleness-related attributes and lower ethicality with strength-related attributes. This association can lead to a "sustainability liability," where the positive effect of sustainability on preference is reduced or even reversed when strength-related attributes are valued. The study uses implicit association tests and explicit preference tasks to demonstrate these effects and suggests that providing explicit cues about product strength can mitigate the sustainability liability. The findings have implications for marketers, who should consider how to communicate the strength of sustainable products to enhance consumer preference.The article "The Sustainability Liability: Potential Negative Effects of Ethicality on Product Preference" by Luchs, Naylor, Irwin, and Raghunathan explores the impact of product sustainability on consumer preferences. The authors argue that while sustainability is generally valued, it may not always enhance preference, especially when strength-related attributes are more important. They propose that consumers associate higher ethicality with gentleness-related attributes and lower ethicality with strength-related attributes. This association can lead to a "sustainability liability," where the positive effect of sustainability on preference is reduced or even reversed when strength-related attributes are valued. The study uses implicit association tests and explicit preference tasks to demonstrate these effects and suggests that providing explicit cues about product strength can mitigate the sustainability liability. The findings have implications for marketers, who should consider how to communicate the strength of sustainable products to enhance consumer preference.