Does Environmental Education Always Contribute to Remanufacturing Supply Chain Development?

Remanufacturing, as an effective way to save resources and alleviate environmental pollution, has gradually become a sustainable practice. Environmental education contributes to the development of remanufacturing by increasing the number of consumers willing to purchase remanufactured products (RPs). However, the incumbent manufacturer usually has limited remanufacturing capability together with yield uncertainty, making a third-party remanufacturer (3PR) an alternate channel choice. This study develops an analytical model to examine the effects of environmental education on a retailer’s choice of remanufacturing channels under in-store competition. Results show that consumer environmental education has the potential to significantly improve the retailer and supply chain profits, and temperate environmental education is always desirable for 3PR. The introduction of 3PR benefits the consumer when the retailer’s remanufacturing technology level is low. Furthermore, when the environmental impact of defective RPs is relatively high, and environmental education is temperate, selecting a 3PR will enhance environmental sustainability. This study also shows that 3PR can help achieve a win–win situation when environmental education and consumer acceptance of RPs are both in a certain range.