Effects of environmental impact labels on the sustainability of food purchases: Two randomised controlled trials in an experimental online supermarket

Abstract

Providing consumers with product-specific environmental impact information for food products (ecolabels) may promote more sustainable purchasing, needed to meet global environmental targets. Two UK studies investigated the effectiveness of different ecolabels using an experimental online supermarket platform. Study 1 (N = 1051 participants) compared three labels against control (no label), while Study 2 (N = 4979) tested four designs against control. Study 1 found significant reductions in the environmental impact score (EIS) for all labels compared to control (labels presented: values for four environmental indicators [-3.9 percentiles, 95%CIs: -5.2,-2.6]; a composite score [taking values from A to E; -3.9, 95%CIs: -5.2,-2.5]; or both together [-3.2, 95%CIs: -4.5,-1.9]). Study 2 showed significant reductions in EIS compared to control for A-E labels [-2.3, 95%CIs: -3.0,-1.5], coloured globes with A-E scores [-3.2, 95%CIs:-3.9,-2.4], and red globes highlighting ’worse’ products [-3.2, 95%CIs:-3.9,-2.5]. There was no evidence that green globes highlighting ’better’ products were effective [-0.5, 95%CIs:-1.3,0.2]. Providing ecolabels is a promising intervention to promote the selection of more sustainable products.

Strengths and weaknesses of food eco-labeling: a review

“…The design of the certificate or eco-label is key for it to produce the expected effects, both for consumers and for the whole system. Simple and clear graphic designs are more effective in influencing the risk perception and consumer behavior changes than any information table with text or numbers ( 72 , 73 ). However, a recent systematic review and meta-analysis concluded that despite different eco-label formats, all lead to selection and purchase of more sustainable products ( 74 ).…”

“…As there is an ecosystem of labels on foods, it is a common suggestion having different categories of labels together, for example, nutritional and environmental. But this suggestion has discrepancy on its impacts over the consumer ( 26 , 72 ), as it induces trade-offs between both ( 73 ). In addition, consumers have been found to limit cognitive ability, and to be distracted or dissuaded from considering many labels ( 41 ), and thus losing effect of the label ( 42 ).…”

“…Eco-label design and excessive informationIt refers to the influence and/or effectiveness of certificate or ecolabels design in risk perception and behavior change in consumers.The effect of the presence of multiple labels and socio-demographic characteristics are discussed. N = 14(25, 26,41,42,53,59, 67,72,73,74, 76, 77, 78,79) Some references are mentioned under more than one topic, therefore the number of references reported here overcomes the number of records reported in the main text (n = 58).…”

Evaluation of Interventions in Online Grocery Shopping for Sustainability and Health: An Adaptive Design Randomized Controlled Trial

“…The simulated store studies identi ed some promising interventions, including healthy swaps, which were effective in two RCTs included in the review (Koutoukidis et al, 2019;Payne Riches et al, 2019). Further studies in simulated online environments have examined interventions to promote sustainability including through information interventions such as carbon footprint or eco-labelling, with mixed results (Kanay et al, 2021;Panzone et al, 2021;Potter et al, 2022). It is unclear whether any effects detected in these virtual supermarket studies would transfer to real shopping conditions.…”

Food insecurity in people living with obesity: Improving sustainable and healthier food choices in the retail food environment—the FIO Food project

“…The findings about consumer food‐purchasing behaviours in WP2 will then be applied to inform the development and examine the impacts of in‐store interventions (designed in WP3). WP2 will examine the impact of potential shifts in consumer purchasing patterns (e.g., reducing meat purchasing or food swaps using data modelling of different scenarios), as well as of real‐world interventions, such as healthy start voucher top‐up coupons (Thomas et al, 2022), 60p value on selected fruit and vegetables (IGD, 2022), sustainability labelling (Potter et al, 2022). This WP will focus on how interventions could theoretically influence purchasing of healthier and environmentally sustainable foods, both independently and combined.…”