Climate‐neutral labeling for climate‐friendly vs. climate‐harmful food products: Consumer perceptions and implications

Abstract

AbstractGiven the increasing prevalence of climate‐neutral labeled products in the actual marketplace, this study analyzes the impact of climate‐neutral labeling on consumer perceptions and purchase propensity. Only for climate‐harmful products we found that climate‐neutral labeling alters product perceptions and purchase propensity (while not for climate‐friendly products). For climate‐harmful products, a climate‐neutral label leads consumers to value the objective contribution to climate protection associated with the label but also evokes various biased inferences (i.e., the product is perceived to [1] be less resource intensive, [2] use fewer chemicals and pesticides during agricultural production, and [3] be superior regarding ethical product benefits like fair trade and animal welfare). We also found that a more transparent labeling practice, which provides additional information of the label scope, reduces the biased inferences (1–2) or even avoids them (3).