The Effect of the Nordic Swan Label on Consumers' Choice

Abstract

This report contains an analysis of the effect of the Nordic Swan (environmental) label on the purchase decisions of Danish consumers. Public provision of information, like the Swan label, has increasingly been used as a regulatory tool in Denmark, but also in a large number of other countries. The report may also be of relevance to an international audience, as the international literature contains few empirical studies of the effect of environmental labeling on the actual purchase decisions of consumers. As a courtesy to potential international readers a number of explanatory descriptions of the Danish retail market and the product groups analyzed have been included in the report, which will be common knowledge for most Danish readers. The core of the analyzed data has been drawn from GfK Danmark’s consumer panel, and we would like to thank GfK Danmark for their invaluable cooperation throughout the project. Gallup Adfacts have very kindly provided the research team with information on the level of advertisement for the product markets analyzed. During the collection and verification of data, other types of information have been obtained from producers and other actors on the markets for Swan labeled products. We would like to thank these people and organizations – too many to mention all – for their help and patience. In the description of the studied markets emphasis is on the period