When everything looks green: consumer perceptions of organic label and unregulated sustainability related claims

Abstract The organic label is one of the most widely recognised sustainability labels in the European Union and serves as a central reference point for sustainable food consumption. At the same time, consumers are confronted with a growing number of additional environmental and sustainability related claims, many of which are unregulated. This study examines how the organic label and various sustainability related claims affect consumers’ perceptions of the environmental friendliness of food products, and whether these signals are differentiated by consumers or lead to similar evaluation effects. Using an online between-subjects split-sample experiment, German consumers ( n = 2,109) evaluated the environmental impact of five food products that varied systematically with respect to the presence and type of sustainability related claims, including an organic label condition and a no-label reference condition. The results show that both the organic label and unregulated claims significantly increase perceived environmental friendliness. Importantly, the organic label does not consistently produce stronger effects than non-certified claims. Moreover, substantial knowledge gaps and misconceptions regarding sustainability related claims were identified, even among frequent organic consumers. Taken together, these findings highlight the limited distinctiveness of organic certification in the current “label jungle” and underscore the potential risk of greenwashing in contemporary food markets.