On-product environmental labels
Consumers around the world began to give greater preference to ecological products when making a purchase decision. This is noticed by many companies that turn to ecological production. Environmental labels are the best way to communicate with environmentally conscious consumers. The main purpose of eco labels is to provide information to consumers in order to build their trust towards ecological products.
Still, there are many consumers who do not really know what certain eco labels mean. The level of awareness and trust among consumers must be increased in order to increase the effectiveness of eco labels in the market.
How well is the FSC label recognized in Croatia?
Two separate studies from 2019 and 2021 with different focus groups tried to answer the same research question: How well are environmental on-product labels recognised in Croatia? To find out more please have a look at the inserts from the recent studies below.
A study by Boris Bačan titled "The role and significance of eco labels on packaging" was published in 2021. 100 consumers took part in the study. Amongst other things, this research aimed to analyse the on-product environmental labels awareness of end consumers in Croatia and determine and show the extent to which consumers are familiar with eco labels (understanding the meaning of a particular label).
While the conclusion of the study showed that in general Croatian consumers are not sufficiently familiar with eco labels (out of 100 surveyed 47% was not sure about the real meaning of various labels), they were highly aware of the meaning behind the FSC label. As many as 69% of study participants were sure that it is a label that encourages responsible forest management and the preservation of forest resources.
Participants were shown a simple FSC logo "checkmark-and-tree". They were asked if they recognise the meaning of the label. Here are the responses:
Concluding remarks of the study state that the level of awareness and trust among consumers needs to be increased in order to increase the effectiveness of eco labels in the market. It is necessary to educate people and invest in the promotion of ecological development so that they can contribute to environmental protection as successfully as possible.
A study by Klaudija Šporčić titled "Analysis of prerequisites for the application of ecological labelling in wood industry companies in the Republic of Croatia" was published in 2019. A survey for the data analysis was sent out to 65 companies from the wood sector. The aim of the research was to determine how informed are the Croatian companies about eco labels.
While the general conclusion of the study states that Croatian companies aren't sufficiently familiar with the environmental management system (EMAS) and the advantages of the ISO 14001 certificate (therefore better promotion of environmental certificates should be ensured), the companies showed a high level of FSC system recognition.
Companies were shown 5 different eco labels and they were asked how familiar are they with each of them on the scale from 1 to 5, where 5 represented the highest value. The answers for the FSC label are shown below. 61% of surveyed companies stated excellent understanding of FSC label. Additionally, out of the 5 shown labels (FSC, EU Ecolabel, PEFC, Friend of the Environment, EPD) the FSC label was significantly more recognised.
Companies were also asked to mark those eco labels that are important for the Republic of Croatia. The answers they provided are shown below. FSC label was given a significantly high importance as compared to the other labels.
Concluding remarks of this study state that better understanding by Croatian companies of the conditions of environmental production would certainly encourage them to introduce certification. Therefore, it is necessary to improve understanding about the advantages of environmental products and production, because this would also increase the number of buyers of such products.
Credits
This online article presents two separate published scientific studies:
- The role and significance of eco labels on packaging, Boris Bačan, 2021
- Analysis of prerequisites for the application of ecological labelling in wood industry companies in the Republic of Croatia, Klaudija Šporčić, 2019
These studies were not financed by FSC.