This document summarizes the results of a 2014 consumer attitude and awareness study regarding ecolabels, sustainable seafood, and MSC certification. Some key findings include: - One-third of respondents across 15 countries were aware of the MSC ecolabel, on par with awareness levels in 2012. - Attitudes toward ecolabels are generally positive, with trust in ecolabels and brands using them remaining steady. - Over 90% of respondents felt ocean sustainability was important, with falling fish stocks and seafood sustainability remaining top concerns.

1. Consumer Attitude and Awareness Study
Prepared by: AMR Marketing Research
November 2014
Research to gauge consumer attitudes towards ecolabels, sustainable seafood, and MSC certification by those buying seafood.
Global Results

2. Contents
Methodology
Highlights
Awareness and recall of MSC ecolabel
Trust in ecolabels
Importance of ocean sustainability

3. Methodology
Online interviews
of approximately 25 minutes duration were administered between 19thMarch –25thJuly
Respondents were:
-mainly or jointly responsible for buying the food for themselves/their family
-have bought a fish product at least once every two months from their main store
Respondents identified main store where ‘majority of grocery shopping done’ -at least 100 respondents per store

4. Sample
A total of 9,019 interviews completed in the UK, Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, France, Canada, USA, Australia, Japan, Poland, Switzerland, Singapore, Spain & Finland
The results at country level are nationally projectable to the adult population of regular buyers of seafood in the major retailers (statistically valid at 95% confidence level +/-4%).
The survey is carried out every two years, with the previous
study in 2012

5. Highlights (seafood sustainability)

6. Highlights (ecolabels)
25% recognition figure in 2010 relates to 8 countries interviewed: UK, Germany, France, Canada, US, Japan, Netherlands, Sweden.

7. Highlights (purchasing decisions)

8. 8
1.Have you seen this logo before?
2.What does it mean to you?
‘Prompting and Influence’ minimised by:
•Asking these questions before any others in the survey
•Removing the text that identifies the ecolabel
•Describing it as a logo rather than ecolabel
•No clues given to respondents during recruiting of what the survey is testing
•Have to describe it in their own words –no multiple choice/prompt given
AWARENESS AND RECALL OF THE MSC ECOLABEL

9. 9
2010*
2012**
2014
Awareness
Recall
5%
•Across the 15 surveyed countries in 2014, a third were aware of the debranded MSC ecolabel. The ratio of recall to awareness is at the same level as 2012.
*The 2010 survey was carried out in 6 countries: UK, Germany, France, US, Canada and Japan.
Base 2010/2012/2014 = 3516/5977/9019 (all countries combined)
Awareness measures consumers' knowledge of a brand's existence. It refers to the proportion of target audience which has prior knowledge of the brand.
Recallis the customers' ability to retrieve specific information from memory to understand what the consumer knows about the brand.
Q1 Have you seen this logo before? Q2. What does it mean to you?
Awareness and recall of the debranded MSC ecolabel
23%
30%
33%
9%
10%
**The 2012 survey was carried out in 10 countries: UK, Germany, France, US, Canada, Japan, Sweden, Netherlands, Australia and Denmark

10. 10
•Attitudes towards ecolabels are generally positive, with similar levels of positivity to those seen in 2012
5%
6%
5%
5%
8%
8%
5%
6%
5%
5%
6%
6%
4%
5%
5%
4%
4%
5%
11%
11%
11%
11%
12%
13%
10%
9%
9%
9%
9%
9%
8%
8%
9%
7%
7%
7%
42%
42%
45%
37%
37%
39%
37%
37%
41%
38%
38%
38%
34%
33%
33%
32%
30%
36%
33%
31%
30%
34%
32%
30%
37%
36%
34%
36%
34%
35%
40%
40%
41%
42%
42%
40%
9%
9%
9%
12%
13%
10%
12%
13%
11%
12%
13%
11%
13%
14%
13%
15%
17%
13%
Disagree strongly
Disagree slightly
Neither agree nor disagree
Agree slightly
Agree strongly
An ecolabel can be trusted because it is independent
I trust a brand that uses ecolabels more than one that doesn’t
Ecolabels let me use my shopping money to reward companies that have demonstrated they meet a high environmental/social standard
I trust ecolabels because they set high standards
A product that carries an ecolabel has less impact on the environment
Ecolabels are effective in helping bringing changes to environmental/social problems
Jul ‘10
Apl ‘12
Jul ‘10
Apl ‘12
Jul ‘10
Apl ‘12
Jul ‘10
Apl ‘12
Jul ‘10
Apl ‘12
Jul ‘10
Apl ‘12
Q7 Opinions on the role of ecolabels
Base 2010/2012/2014 = 3516/5977/9019 (all countries combined)
Do consumers trust ecolabels and the brands that use them?
Jul ‘14
Jul ‘14
Jul ‘14
Jul ‘14
Jul ‘14
Jul ‘14

11. 11
•Steady increases from 2010 in willingness to pay more for ecolabelled products
•Proportion of those who are unlikely to check products for ecolabels is falling from 2010
27%
27%
24%
12%
12%
12%
9%
10%
9%
8%
7%
7%
7%
8%
9%
7%
8%
9%
35%
33%
34%
30%
28%
29%
28%
28%
27%
24%
23%
24%
21%
23%
23%
25%
29%
31%
24%
25%
27%
30%
32%
33%
31%
32%
35%
43%
41%
43%
27%
28%
31%
29%
30%
30%
9%
10%
10%
18%
19%
18%
17%
16%
16%
16%
17%
16%
26%
23%
23%
23%
19%
19%
5%
6%
5%
7%
9%
8%
16%
13%
13%
10%
11%
9%
20%
17%
15%
16%
14%
11%
Agree strongly
Agree slightly
Neither agree nor disagree
Disagree slightly
Disagree strongly
Jul ‘10
Apl ‘12
Jul ‘10
Apl ‘12
Jul ‘10
Apl ‘12
Jul ‘10
Apl ‘12
Jul ‘10
Apl ‘12
Jul ‘10
Apl ‘12
Wouldn’t swap what usually buy for different brand just because it has an ecolabel –sticking to what I/family know/like more important
Family wouldn’t notice if I didn’t buy any ecolabelled products
I’m buying more products with ecolabels these days than I did a year ago
I would like to buy more products with ecolabels but my supermarket doesn’t stock them
I would be ready to pay a little more for a product with an ecolabel
These days I regularly pick up products to check for ecolabels before I buy them
Q6 Effect of ecolabels on general shopping behaviour
Base 2010/2012 = 3516/5977/9019 (all countries combined)
Do ecolabels have an impact on hard-to-break buying habits?
Jul ‘14
Jul ‘14
Jul ‘14
Jul ‘14
Jul ‘14
Jul ‘14

12. 12
•‘Friends/family recommendations’ followed by ‘ecolabels’ are the most trusted sources on socially/environmentally responsible goods –the former is an indication of how much more these issues are in everyday conversation.
6%
5%
5%
4%
3%
4%
3%
7%
3%
2%
17%
14%
12%
13%
8%
11%
7%
11%
7%
5%
40%
40%
41%
40%
45%
40%
36%
32%
33%
33%
33%
35%
37%
37%
37%
38%
43%
40%
45%
47%
5%
5%
5%
6%
7%
7%
10%
11%
12%
12%
Distrust a lot
Distrust a little
Neither
Trust somewhat
Trust completely
Base = 9109 (2014)
Specialist magazines
Friends/Family recommendations
Scale:
Ecolabels on products
Brand’s own promise on products
Supermarkets/Grocery stores
Internet environmental blogs/sites
Newspapers
Television programmes
Work colleague recommendations
Government advice
Q10 Extent to which trust sources on socially/environmentally responsible goods
Where do ecolabels rank as a trusted source of information?

13. 13
•9 in 10 think that ocean sustainability is important
Base 2014 = 9019 (all answering)
Is ocean sustainability important?
Q10a Degree ocean sustainability thought to be important.
1%
1%
9%
38%
51%
Not at allimportant
Not veryimportant
Neither importantnor important
Quite important
Extremelyimportant

14. 14
•‘Falling fish stocks’ and seafood sustainability remain a very high concern for seafood buyers
33%
30%
32%
25%
34%
27%
33%
34%
37%
4%
4%
5%
5%
5%
5%
28%
30%
30%
31%
33%
31%
21%
20%
19%
9%
10%
11%
9%
10%
9%
24%
24%
30%
27%
26%
25%
30%
30%
29%
34%
32%
31%
32%
32%
30%
11%
12%
9%
14%
34%
13%
12%
11%
10%
33%
34%
33%
36%
35%
36%
4%
4%
4%
4%
4%
4%
5%
5%
5%
20%
20%
21%
19%
19%
20%
Disagree strongly
Disagree slightly
Neither agree nor disagree
Agree slightly
Agree strongly
Jul ‘10
Apl ‘12
Jul ‘10
Apl ‘12
Jul ‘10
Apl ‘12
Jul ‘10
Apl ‘12
Jul ‘14
A few scaremongers talk about falling fish stocks but it is not an important issue
There are enough fish in the sea to meet global demand
Don't know. I have not heard any concerns about fish stocks
Falling fish stocks is a very important issue and I am more concerned about it than I was a year ago
The total number of fish in the sea is at a critically low level now and will run out unless we do something
Jul ‘10
Apl ‘12
Base 2010/2012/2014 = 3516/5977/9019 (all countries combined)
Q11 Opinions on ‘falling fish stocks’
Is seafood sustainability a concern?
Jul ‘14
Jul ‘14
Jul ‘14
Jul ‘14

15. 15
Agree slightly
Disagree strongly
Disagree slightly
Neither agree nor disagree
Agree strongly
Scale:
I only buy sustainable fish productsregardless of price, quality or if I have to go to another shop to find them
I had heard about sustainably caught fish but it doesn't affect what I buy
I had never heard of sustainably caught fish so it doesn't affect what I buy at the moment
I am willing to pay for sustainable fish products but if the quality looks lower, I will buy the higher-quality,non-sustainable choice
I prefer to buy fish products which are sustainable but not if it costs more
I usually avoid certain speciesthat I think are endangered
I would buy more fishif I knew that it had come from a sustainable source
It is very important that supermarkets and restaurants make sure they are selling sustainably caught seafood
Buying sustainably caught fish will help ensure that fish stocks are available to future generations
16%
15%
25%
7%
5%
6%
5%
3%
3%
26%
25%
27%
14%
13%
16%
10%
5%
5%
37%
34%
28%
38%
37%
37%
41%
27%
32%
16%
22%
15%
33%
35%
29%
29%
32%
39%
5%
5%
5%
8%
11%
12%
14%
29%
22%
•More than 3 in 5 consumers think it is very important that supermarkets and restaurants sell sustainably caught seafood
•More than 2 in 5 say they avoid endangered species and would buy more fish if they knew it was from a sustainable source
Base = 9019 (2014)
Q12 Agreement/disagreement with statements on purchasing sustainably caught fish
Does seafood sustainability influence buying decisions?

16. 16
5%
6%
5%
7%
6%
8%
5%
6%
7%
9%
27%
30%
6%
7%
5%
5%
3%
5%
3%
3%
24%
25%
8%
8%
9%
8%
5%
5%
6%
5%
25%
23%
31%
29%
26%
25%
27%
26%
21%
19%
11%
9%
28%
25%
30%
27%
32%
29%
26%
22%
8%
7%
23%
24%
24%
26%
29%
29%
38%
42%
Base 5977/9019 (all answering)
Agree slightly
Disagree strongly
Disagree slightly
Neither agree nor disagree
Agree strongly
Scale:
When I eat out, I would like to have the option to order ecolabelled seafood products
•While there is little support for or engagement with consumers eating out, around half would like to have the option to order ecolabelled seafood products when dining
When I eat out, I have never seen seafood ecolabels on the menu
When I eat out, I do not look specifically for ecolabelled seafood products on the menu
When I eat out, I specifically ask whether the seafood on the menu comes from a sustainable source
It is important that restaurants show they have sustainable seafood options
Not applicable
Does seafood sustainability influence habits when eating out?
Q13 Opinions on Seafood Ecolabels and Eating Out
April ‘12
April ‘14
April ‘12
April ‘14
April ‘12
April ‘14
April ‘12
April ‘14
April ‘12
April ‘14

17. 17
3%
5%
3%
4%
4%
4%
2%
3%
7%
6%
7%
6%
8%
6%
4%
4%
3%
3%
4%
5%
4%
2%
3%
4%
32%
36%
31%
31%
31%
27%
26%
25%
22%
22%
25%
21%
24%
23%
20%
19%
40%
33%
41%
36%
39%
37%
44%
38%
45%
41%
45%
39%
45%
38%
45%
39%
17%
20%
18%
22%
19%
26%
23%
31%
27%
31%
24%
33%
26%
35%
30%
36%
Having access to all the information online
•That ‘the fishery is checked on a regular basis’ remains the most important piece of information in trusting seafood sustainability claims
Scientific evidence that there are enough fish being left in the ocean
Evidence that the surrounding environment is not being harmed
The fishery is checked on a regular basis
The name and location of the fishery
Knowing which fishing method was used (e.g. nets, trawl, long line, pole and line etc.)
The fishery was assessed by independent experts
Assurance the product can be traced back (through every step of the chain) to a sustainable fishery
Level of Importance of Information in Trusting Seafood Sustainability Claims
Q15a Level of Importance of Information in Trusting Seafood Sustainability Claims
April ‘12
April ‘14
April ‘12
April ‘14
April ‘12
April ‘14
April ‘12
April ‘14
April ‘12
April ‘14
April ‘12
April ‘14
April ‘12
April ‘14
April ‘12
April ‘14
Base 5977/9019 (all answering)
Quite important
Not at all important
Not very important
Neither important nor unimportant
Extremely important
Scale: