Abstract
Objective: This study aimed to investigate how conscious consumers interact with and utilise ecolabels in their decision-making using bottled milk as an indicative dairy product. Design: This was achieved using online semi-structured interviews (n=16) that included a visual aide, allowing participants to observe and comment on the front and back labelling of six different milk bottles. Setting: Online via Zoom or Teams. Participants: Australian consumers of dairy products who are over 18, think about the ethics of their dairy consumption in some way (conscious consumers), and consume milk (n=16). Phenomenon of Interest: The interactions and use of of Australian conscious consumers with ecolabels on bottled milk. Analysis: Qualitative analysis of interview transcripts using coding through NVivo 12 software. Results: This research found consumers do not view food shopping as a leisure activity, but rather as a necessary and menial task which they aim to complete as quickly as possible. Consumers, therefore aimed to streamline their decision-making process using heuristics. Heuristics used by participants included brand, price, taste, and quality. These shortcuts were found to be the most influential factors in participants’ decision making. In addition, most participants expressed confusion and scepticism about the reliability and integrity of the information communicated in ecolabels. Conclusions and Implications: Ecolabels had little influence on participants' choice of milk products and thus may not effectively inform purchase point decision making. Pairing ecolabels with trusted and developed consumer heuristics could aid in increasing consumer use of, and trust in, ecolabels.