Are Consumers Color Blind? An Empirical Investigation of a Traffic Light Advisory for Sustainable Seafood

Policy Summary

This paper empirically investigates consumer response to an advisory for environmentally sustainable seafood adopted by a regional supermarket in the United States. The study finds that the advisory leads to no significant difference in total seafood sales, while sales of “best choice” labeled products increased, “proceed with caution” products decreased, and “worst choice” sales showed no significant difference. They find that a label is a necessary but not sufficient to increase sales of sustainable seafood. Further research needs are identified, particularly related to sustainable seafood.

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