The EU’s ‘green leaf’ logo, which seeks to communicate the certified organic credentials of products, should be modified to improve consumer understanding, a study by the University of Bonn, in collaboration with Newcastle University and Corvinus University, has found.
The study, which was published in the Agribusiness journal, followed on from a 2024 survey that indicated that just 56% of EU citizens recognise the logo, while less than half understand that it signifies compliance with EU organic standards.
While labels such the ‘green leaf’, which was implemented on certified organic products across the EU in 2010, are designed to assure consumers that products meet specific social and environmental standards, “many labels fail to do so because they either don’t attract attention, aren’t clear enough, or even cause confusion,” according to Prof. Dr. Monika Hartmann, head of the Department of Agricultural and Food Market Research at the University of Bonn.
About the study
The research team tested two modified versions of the logo, with one adding the words ‘Bio’ or ‘Eco’ inside the leaf, depending on the language of the country in question, while a second version included this word along with the term ‘EU-certified’.
These logos were then shown to 9,500 consumers across seven EU countries, and were rated on clarity, trustworthiness, and usefulness in supporting informed decisions.
In all participating countries, the modified labels were judged as being clearer, more understandable, more trustworthy, and more helpful than the original logo.
“Interestingly, adding ‘EU‑certified’ had no extra effect,” Hartmann added. “Apparently, the original logo mainly lacks the unmistakable signal that it denotes organic.”
Signal clarity
A follow-up study with around 500 participants in Germany asked respondents about their perceptions of the new logos with regard to clarity, uncertainty, trust, and intention to purchase.
“We showed that signal clarity rose dramatically,” said Hartmann. “Almost 90% of respondents clearly identified the logo augmented with ‘Bio’ or ‘Eco’ as an organic mark – versus under 70% for the original EU logo.” Read more here.
