Sustainability labels on products: consumer understanding and use in Bulgaria

This study investigates the consumer understanding and use of environmental and ethical labels (sustainability labels) on products. Data were collected by means of direct personal face-to-face interviews, with a total sample size of 1011 respondents. The survey was conducted in April - May 2013 in Bulgaria. Respondents expressed low levels of knowledge of the environmental concepts, sustainability labels and difficulty in the selection of products labelled with them. Understanding of nine selected labels (EU organic production, EU Ecolabel, Fair Trade, FSC certification, Protected geographical indication, Protected designation of origin, Traditional speciality guaranteed, Energy label and the Product is obtained by recycling or can be recycled) was very limited. The results indicated a strong correlation between information about the labels and the level of education of the participants. The results imply that sustainability labels currently are not well known and efforts are required from stakeholders to create trust in the labelling of environmental and ethical products.