Dessau. To mark World Ecolabel Day on 10 October, the Blue Angel is publishing the representative survey by opinion research institute forsa on “Environmental awareness within your own four walls”. For 74% of those surveyed, environmental friendliness is important or very important when purchasing household products – environmental friendliness is thus a little less important to respondents than quality (98%) and price (86%). The survey also shows: the government ecolabel Blue Angel is well known to almost everyone with 94% awareness.
Comparison of product groups: room for improvement in the non-food sector
To what extent consumers base their purchasing decision on environmental aspects also depends on the respective product group: while 90% of respondents pay attention to environmental friendliness at least occasionally for food, around three quarters do so for cleaning products (75%) and cosmetics (73%). Environmental awareness when making purchases is lower for DIY products (60%) and office supplies (54%).
Basis for decision-making when buying environmentally friendly products
When selecting environmentally friendly products, consumers are guided by various factors: 59% pay at-tention to information from the manufacturer on the packaging (e.g. regarding ingredients), 55% use inde-pendent test results and 48% look for independent seals. Recommendations from friends and acquaint-ances (31%) and user reviews (17%) play a lesser role. 2% rely on recommendations from influencers on social media.
Challenges: price perception and product availability
For 70% of respondents, independent seals such as the Blue Angel or the EU Ecolabel are a reliable guide when shopping and 65% trust that the given standards are also fulfilled and monitored for products with these seals. It remains a challenge that 77% of respondents perceive products with environmental seals to be more expensive. In addition, 74% of those surveyed would specifically buy products with envi-ronmental seals more often if they could identify more easily which seal is trustworthy.
Ingo Strube from the Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMUV) emphasises: “The survey shows: people want more guidance due to the variety of seals. We can see a clear brief for the Blue Angel here. We must further highlight the relevance of our ecolabel in the everyday lives of consumers and motivate them to consume sustainably. With its strict test criteria, the Blue Angel offers precisely the reliable guidance that consumers are looking for."
World Ecolabel Day: global commitment to sustainability
World Ecolabel Day aims to increase awareness of sustainable consumption and highlight the role of eco-labels as practical guides. The Blue Angel ecolabel, which has been a member of the Global Ecolabelling Network since 1994, makes an important contribution here.
The fundamental survey and study data
The survey was conducted by the opinion research institute forsa on behalf of the Blue Angel ecolabel. From 12 to 20 June 2024, 1,506 German-speaking people aged 18 years and over were surveyed in Germany. The results can be transferred to the population with the margins of error possible in all sample surveys (in this case +/- 2.5 percentage points).
Consistent trends in environmental awareness
The survey results confirm and deepen important trends from the environmental awareness study by the German Environment Agency in 2022. The widespread awareness of the Blue Angel (94% in 2024, 93% in 2022) remains constant. A similar pattern can also be seen for the influence on purchasing decisions: in the 2022 environmental awareness study, 45% of those who know the seal said that the Blue Angel often influences their purchasing decisions, 48% in the current survey.
Janine Braumann from the German Environment Agency (UBA): “The results not only show how well-known the Blue Angel ecolabel is, but also to what extent it plays an active role in purchases. The eco-label can only make a difference for the environment when people also orient themselves towards the Blue Angel when shopping.”