Exploring Design Strategies for Cultivating Sustainability and Enhancing Brand Image in Personal Care Product Brands

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Excellent study that is very important in the current environment. 

One suggestion would be that the focus on personal care products be reinforced throughout the paper.

It will be interesting to follow the sustainable packaging metric to see if this increases in importance to consumers.  Given the new model that started during COVID to increase online purchases that includes sending individual items in one order in separate packages, the increase in packaging materials is having an impact on increased trash. 

Author Response

Please see the attachment. Thank you.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Dear Authors,

I like the paper. I have nevertheless got three main suggestions:

1. Provide more detail about the process of AHP-based part of analysis. I mean the description of the process of gathering and averaging individual AHP assessments, in particular.
2. It is mentioned in the beginning of the paper that influencing factors can be interrelated with each other. I would suggest, therefore, to address the possibility of including factor interrelations (ANP application insted of AHP?) in the conclusions and  future research decription, at least.
3. I would also recommend to extend bibliography by means of including several more recent references, if possible.

Author Response

Please see the attachment. Thank you.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This article explores design strategies for fostering sustainability and enhancing brand identity in personal care product brands. The article is well documented, with research design clearly stated and results presented in a logical sequence. However, the manuscript I suggest several improvements to be done, for a better quality of presentation.

 

1. The abstract is a bit long, it is recommended to simplify.

 

2. Line 157-175, please add reference.

 

3. Table 2 box lines need to be adjusted.

 

4. During the expert opinion collection phase, inviting only three professionals is a bit low.

 

5. AHP and the Delphi method are too subjective.

 

6. Discussion need to be re-arranged, several paragraphs could be moved to conclusion.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Minor editing of English language required.

Author Response

Please see the attachment. Thank you.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 4 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This paper uses modified Delphi method and analytic hierarchy process, and invites experts and scholars to participate in evaluating the indicators and weights of sustainable brand image design strategies. On this basis, this paper discusses how to design sustainable brand image for personal care products to improve brand competitiveness and social responsibility. This makes sense, but the following questions still need to be answered:

1)       The Introduction section does not provide enough background information to explain why personal care product brands were chosen for the study, and what the current status and challenges are in this area. It is suggested to add some data or facts in the introduction of the research topic to show the market size, consumer demand, competitive environment, the importance of sustainable development and other aspects of the personal care product brand, so as to enhance the pertinence and persuasion of the research.

2)       The content of the second chapter lacks the critical analysis and evaluation of the literature, and does not reflect the author's independent thinking and innovation ability. It is suggested that the author should analyze and evaluate the methods, results, limitations and significance of the literature while citing the literature, point out the advantages and disadvantages of the literature and the similarities and differences with this paper, so as to provide theoretical basis and inspiration for the study of this paper.

3)       Section 3.3 of the paper lacks a discussion on the advantages, disadvantages and applicability of AHP, does not explain why AHP is chosen instead of other methods, and does not mention the limitations and assumptions of AHP. It is suggested that when introducing the principle and procedure of AHP, it should briefly explain its advantages and limitations, as well as its applicability and effectiveness in this study.

4)       The discussion in section 4.3 of this paper lacks an explanation of the limitations of this paper and the direction of future research. It is suggested to add a paragraph of reflection and outlook at the end, point out the shortcomings of this paper, such as the validity of data, the applicability of methods, the perfection of indicators, and put forward some problems that can be further discussed and improved in the future. Such as how to evaluate and enhance the effect of sustainable brand image design strategy, how to combine different industry and market characteristics to develop different strategies.

5)       At the end of chapter 5, there are no specific suggestions or guidance for the practical application of sustainable brand image design strategies, but only some future research directions. It is suggested to add some practical suggestions in the end to provide some reference and inspiration for designers and operators of sustainable brands.

Author Response

Please see the attachment. Thank you.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf