Can a meta sustainability label facilitate more sustainable consumer choices?

Abstract

The current sustainability labeling landscape has been accused of creating unnecessary consumer confusion due to too much, too complex, too similar, and too ambiguous information. Meta‐sustainability labeling is proposed as a solution. We provide the first evidence on the added value of this instrument based on a survey in the USA (N = 518) and Germany (N = 520). Participants were randomly allocated to one of four different conditions: (1) traditional labeling, (2) new, common label design, (3) traditional labeling plus meta label, and (4) new, common label design plus meta label. The study confirms the preference for sustainability‐labeled products in both countries. In the USA, the new, common label design outperforms traditional labeling. Adding a meta label reduced the effect. In Germany, both the common labeling design and the meta label improved the effectiveness of sustainability labeling for some consumer segments. The new designs are built on the branding of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, which makes them practically relevant for global implementation.

Do eco labels matter for green business strategy and sustainable consumption? A mixed method investigation on green products

“…promoting green goods (Sammer & Wüstenhagen, 2006). Eco-labels favourably influence attitudes and GPI (Torma & Thøgersen, 2023).…”

“…Eco-labels are crucial in strengthening the correlation between attitude and purchasing intentions (Testa et al, 2015) by promoting the beneficial aspects of green goods (Torma & Thøgersen, 2023). More importantly, our study focuses the investigative lens on eco-labels as it is considered a magical tool to help materialise favourable attitudes towards purchasing intentions.…”

“…Our study promotes the inclusion of attitude as it has cropped up as the governing variable to explain the psychological perspectives of consumers engaged in green product acquisitions. As ecolabels legitimise green goods purchases (Torma & Thøgersen, 2023),…”

“…Hence, the research helps clear this haze by reducing the information asymmetry through eco-labels and product attributes, which help consumers make rational green purchases (Torma & Thøgersen, 2023).…”

Predicting the value‐based determinants of sustainable luxury consumption: A multi‐analytical approach and pathway to sustainable development in the luxury industry

“…Portraying them as a desirable alternative to general luxury equivalents can aid marketers in highlighting the longevity and unique craftsmanship associated with sustainable luxury (Pai et al, 2022). Moreover, marketers might consider designing visually expressive meta-sustainability labeling schemes for both cohorts to nudge specific value-expressive benefits associated with SLFPs (Torma & Thøgersen, 2023). Ultimately, it is imperative for marketers to delve into the contexts under which different categories of sustainable luxury products are more susceptible to influence, whether from Gen Y to Gen X, or vice versa.…”