Sustainable spending is most easily established by drawing consumers’ attention with an informative shelf tag. This is shown by an experimental study conducted in Italy, just published in Food Policy. (1)
Sustainable shopping information tags, the study
The experimental study was conducted in some Coop supermarkets in Tuscany. Researchers-including economist Leonardo Becchetti, co-founder of NeXt (New Economy for All)-placed a series of information tags next to the shelves where Coop Italia-branded products from the Vivi Verde line are displayed. With the aim of fostering information on the pluses related to the environmental sustainability of products.
Consumers’ attitude to make responsible choices has also been measured, in some supermarkets, through price increases (+5-10%) of products presented by price tags. To assess the willingness to recognize the greater value of products that are characterized by greater attention throughout the supply chain to the environment and the land. As well as towards the protection of workers, in compliance with the SA8000 standard, which only Coop Italia has applied since 1998 on all its own brand products and maintains great relevance in the fight against caporalato.
Encouraging results
The results of the trial are encouraging. As had already been found with the Cash Mob experiences, again in collaboration with Coop, information rewards purchases of products that come from ethical supply chains. Sales and market share of eco-friendly products marked with the tag have thus increased for both food products (e.g., whole-wheat pasta) and non-food products, from eco-friendly detergents to napkins made from recycled paper.
In contrast, purchases of disposable products, such as paper cups and tissues, decreased or remained stable. Although made with greater care for the environment (e.g., paper cups, recycled paper handkerchiefs), such products are perceived as superfluous when accompanied by a tag that explicates the environmental impact of their actually unnecessary consumption.
Not only health
The experimentation was particularly useful in guiding non-food purchase choices. The clear and simple information offered on the tags was very effective. Far more than the complex wording on individual labels in stimulating consumer awareness of products with a lower environmental impact.
Conversely, the ethicality of food spending is facilitated by the convergence of sustainability and health benefits, which are fully realized in organic foods. And this is how, among other things, their growing global success is explained.
Interim conclusions
The shelf tag is pointed out by researchers as an effective tool to promote more sustainable purchasing and consumption choices, in line with national and European agri-environmentalstrategies ( Farm to Fork strategy).
The propensity shown by consumers to recognize the greater value of sustainable products is in turn an encouraging sign for responsible businesses. Which in turn also benefit economically from adopting sustainability-oriented strategies, as this study shows and as also seen with regard to organic supply chains.
Marta Strinati and Dario Dongo
Notes
1) Leonardo Becchetti, Francesco Salustri, Pasquale Scaramozzino (2020). Nudging and corporate environmental responsibility: A natural field experiment. Food Policy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2020.101951
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
