Ethical grocery shopping comes down to labels
New Zealand shoppers want to buy products that are produced sustainably, but they aren’t following through.
New research says that may be because they lack information.
University of Otago Business School researchers looked at the disparity between what consumers say they would like to do and what they actually do, studying the link between labelling information and the intention to buy organic products in New Zealand.
Their research suggests that only 3 per cent make purchasing decisions based on the sustainability of the product, although an estimated 30 per cent say they want to ‘‘act more sustainably’’ when they are shopping.
Associate Professor Robert Aitken and his team found almost three-quarters of those studied said they need more productspecific information at the point of purchase to help them act more sustainably.
He said there was an overall issue of middle-class privilege, which stopped some shoppers from buying in accordance with their beliefs.
But there were other barriers to overcome for those who could afford it, including availability and concern about quality.
Aitken said it was clear there was a lack of practical information for consumers to make informed choices about how to be environmentally sustainable.
‘‘People wanting to buy sustainably are aware of the wider issues but want to know about the specific ingredients, the packaging and what efforts the producers and suppliers have made to make their products sustainable,’’ he said.
‘‘They want to know if the product is sourced responsibly and ethically. Consumers want genuine, credible information on the label. They don’t want a company to give them ‘greenwash’ sustainability messages; they are actively asking if some products are as environmentally sensitive as their producers portray them.’’
He said many were cynical about the information they did get.
Aitken said there was a shift towards shoppers thinking of their purchasing decisions as a type of political protest.
But he said consumers had to have a clear idea that their purchasing decisions could make a real difference.
‘‘It’s about trying to convince people and encourage them to feel that yes, this will make a difference. Otherwise they think ‘I’m just one shopper in one supermarket in one town in one country.’’’