A table comparing original labels, adjusted labels, abbreviations, and reasons for selection across sustainability formats.The table includes column headers Original label, Adjusted label (Abbr.), Abbr., and Reason for selection. Row 1: Shows an original vertical rating scale with circular markers labeled A, B, C, D, and E. The adjusted label is a large circular badge with the letter B. The abbreviation is Global label. The reason for selection under Research states higher effectiveness than M L S L (Potter et al., 2022), at odds with Muller et al. (2019), and higher willingness-to-pay for groceries with aggregated score (Shaikh et al., 2024). Row 2: Shows an Eco-Score style label with a highlighted B level. The adjusted label states No adjustment needed. The abbreviation is Eco-Score Industry. The reason for selection under Industry states used in specific eco-stores (W B C S D, 2021), among the most known sustainability labels for food (Verweij-Novikova et al., 2022), and positive effect on grocery shopping (Marette, 2021). Row 3: Shows another Eco-Score format with a horizontal A to E scale and B emphasized. The adjusted label states No adjustment needed. The abbreviation is Eco-Score Research. The reason for selection under Research states highest preference among five labels (Neumayr and Moosauer, 2021) and that many consumers require a NutriScore-like label for sustainability (Hallez et al., 2021). Row 4: Shows an Enviroscore style with an arc scale labeled A, B, C, D, and E. The adjusted label states No adjustment needed. The abbreviation is Enviroscore. The reason for selection includes Industry statements that it is used in specific eco-stores (W B C S D, 2021) and among the most known sustainability labels for food (Verweij-Novikova et al., 2022). Row 5: Shows an Eco Impact bar with a highlighted B level. The adjusted label states No adjustment needed. The abbreviation is Eco-Impact. The reason for selection refers to Industry and indicates to see reasons for Enviroscore. Row 6: Shows a sustainability rating badge with stars and a circular emblem. The adjusted label shows a refined circular sustainability rating badge. The abbreviation is Sustain-Rating. The reason for selection under Research states positive effects for an animal welfare M L S L and that it should be tested for sustainability (Weinrich and Spiller, 2016), and recommendation for an M L S L with stars (Leach et al., 2016). Row 7: Shows an Eternity label with multiple indicators such as greenhouse gas, water footprint, land use, and animal welfare. The adjusted label shows a similar Eternity panel with clearer indicators. The abbreviation is Eternity. The reason for selection under Industry states it is used in specific eco-stores (W B C S D, 2021) and recommended by Stein and Lima (2022). Row 8: Shows a per 100 g environmental metric panel with values for water, C O 2, land, and nitrogen. The adjusted label shows a guideline-style panel with colored indicators for greenhouse gases, water footprint, land use, and animal welfare. The abbreviation is Guidelines. The reason for selection under Research states recommendation based on food guidelines (Hallez et al., 2021), labels similar to nutritional value labels positively affect consumer decisions (Gröfke et al., 2021), and this type effectively communicates sustainability complexity (Gröfke et al., 2021). Row 9: Shows a table-style format listing carbon, nitrogen, and water values. The adjusted label shows a structured table with greenhouse gases, water footprint, land use, and animal welfare. The abbreviation is Table. The reason for selection under Research states a suggestion to visualize M D M L S L by Leach et al. (2016). Row 10: Shows circular pie-style charts with segments labeled for categories such as climate, nutrition, biodiversity, and animal welfare. The adjusted label shows a refined pie chart with labeled segments such as greenhouse gas, water footprint, land use, and animal welfare. The abbreviation is Pie chart. The reason for selection under Research states a suggestion to visualize each dimension (Stein and Lima, 2022) and that such visuals attract consumer attention (Leach et al., 2016; Stein and Lima, 2022). Row 11: Shows Planet Score labels with horizontal colored bars and ratings from A to E. The adjusted label shows a similar Planet Score with clearer indicators. The abbreviation is Planet-Score. The reason for selection under Industry states used in specific eco-stores (W B C S D, 2021), among the most well-known sustainability labels for food (Verweij-Novikova et al., 2022), and positive effects compared to binary labels (Kolber and Meixner, 2023). Row 12: Shows environmental friendliness scales with numeric scores such as 8.5 out of 10 and 7.5 out of 10 with colored gradients. The adjusted label shows a similar numeric rating scale. The abbreviation is 10-point Score. The reason for selection under Research states best out of six labels to convey sustainability information (Vlaeminck et al., 2014), recommendation of M D M L S L by Stein and Lima (2022), and recommendation to display aggregated scores by numbers (Hélias et al., 2022). Row 13: The row shows an aggregated score label with a horizontal scale marked A, B, C, D, and E, where B is highlighted. Below it are four dashed boxes representing key dimensions: Greenhouse gas, Water footprint, Land use, and Animal welfare, each with a small A to E scale. A Q R code appears on the right side of the aggregated score panel. The abbreviation is Authors’ suggestion. The reason for selection under Research states including aggregated score (Vlaeminck et al., 2014) based on five levels (Helias et al., 2022), adding most important dimensions (W B C S D, 2021) to increase information conveyed without losses in efficiency due to aggregated score (Helias et al., 2022), adding illustrations to catch consumers’ attraction (Leach et al., 2016; Stein and Lima, 2022), and additional information via Q R code (Leach et al., 2016; W B C S D, 2021). Row 14: The row shows two environmental score labels with a horizontal A to E scale and the letter B highlighted. Below each scale is a flower-shaped graphic with colored petals representing different sustainability dimensions such as greenhouse gas, water footprint, land use, and animal welfare. The abbreviation is Flower-Score. The reason for selection under Research states effectively impacting consumer choices (Potter et al., 2022) and recommended M D M L S L by Stein and Lima (2022). |
