Summary
This randomised controlled trial (N = 1,051, UK) evaluated the effectiveness of three different ecolabel formats in promoting more sustainable food purchasing using an experimental online supermarket. All three label formats significantly reduced the environmental impact score of selected products compared to control (reductions ranging from −3.2 to −3.9 percentiles), suggesting that providing consumers with product-specific environmental impact information is a viable policy intervention to shift purchasing towards more sustainable options.
UK applicability
The findings are directly applicable to UK policy and retail practice, as the study was conducted with UK participants in a UK context. The results support the potential introduction of mandatory or voluntary environmental labelling schemes on UK food products to align consumer purchasing with climate and environmental targets.
Key measures
Environmental impact score (EIS) in percentiles; effect sizes expressed as percentile reductions with 95% confidence intervals for three label conditions versus control
Outcomes reported
The study measured the environmental impact score (EIS) of food items selected by participants in an experimental online supermarket, comparing three different ecolabel formats against a control with no label. Reductions in EIS were quantified in percentiles across labels presenting four environmental indicators, composite A–E scores, or both combined.
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