The meaning of the organic certification label for the consumer: a cluster analysis/O significado dos selos de certificacao organica para o consumidor: uma analise de cluster.
| Autor | Rodrigues, David Barros |
| Cargo | Sustainability and Management |
Introduction
Consumerism is a cultural pattern that causes people to find meaning, satisfaction and acknowledgment mainly through the consumption of goods and services. But its expansion also causes a transformation, by the human activity, of the Earth natural functions in such a way that the ability of the ecosystems to sustain future generations can no longer be taken for granted (Worldwatch Institute, 2015). In this context, rapid and profound changes need to be made in order to avoid potential and negative social and environmental consequences. For Instituto Akatu (2013), the logic of the company's relationship with the market depends on the way market players--and most particularly the consumers--will value the companies. Despite all the debate concerning more sustainable products, several studies show that many people are unaware on how their buying attitude impacts the environment and society, but who would be willing to contribute to build a more sustainable society. When it comes to changing the buying habits, these consumers still appear to not realize the influence they have with their choice power (Fontenelle, 2006; Instituto Akatu, 2013).
In view of this debate, how to make the choice for sustainable products become easier? If the consumer has clear information at the point of sale, could they make more conscious choices? What is the role of the products sustainable certifications as an additional source of information which influences the buying decision? Hamza and Dalmarco (2012) found that even among respondents with attitudes more targeted on sustainability, i.e. more conscious consumers (save water and electric power, separate garbage for recycling, use returnable bags in supermarkets etc.), the level of knowledge and the certification labels use, in general, are quite low.
To contribute to the theoretical expansion of this theme, this article intends to make a reflection on sustainable certifications and their relevance for the conscious consumption and for the businesses. For this, the specific theme of organic products was chosen in order to assess the certification issue in a well-defined market and, in some ways, better known by the general public, as pointed out by the research of Hamza and Dalmarco (2011), which showed that 70% of respondents claimed to have already heard about organic products labels, being these, along with the label of the Abrinq Foundation, (1) the certifications that obtained the highest percentage of knowledge from among all the surveyed certifications.
Thus, the research question-problem was established as "What is the meaning of the organic certification label to the consumer?" with the following specific objectives: (i) define the labels main meanings for consumers; and (ii) segment the consumers according to the meaning of the labels assigned by them.
The three main organic certification labels of Brazil will be used, being two of them (Ecocert and IBD) managed by companies with the same name, which were identified by Voltolini (2010). The "Organico Brasil" label, in turn, is an official instrument for identification of organic products, managed by the Brazilian Government (Portal Brasil, 2012).
Finally, in this article, "consumer" will be considered as the agent that besides the act of consuming products and services will make judgments and simple and/or complex choices about these products and services. It will be considered consumer every person who does shopping for the house in person at least once a month, on channels like supermarkets, hypermarkets, grocery stores, street markets, organic products markets and stores that only sell on the wholesale.
Related theory and literature
Sustainable certifications
Environmental certifications were created as a market self-regulation mechanism, and their expected impact in organizations is to encourage systematic and constant occupation of management with process management systems which are sustainable, of environmental audit and related with the life cycles of their products (Magrini, 1999 as cited in Bufoni, Muniz, & Ferreira, 2009).
The ISO Norm 14024 ("environmental labels and declarations") was launched in 1999 as a complement to the ISO Norm 14000, aiming at standardizing the principles, practices and the key features related to the environmental labels, according to the Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN, 2004). This Norm distinguishes the green labels in three different categories, namely: (a) type I: sustainable labels obtained from an assessment based on multiple criteria, carried out by a third party; (b) Type II: self-declared environmental appeal; (c) Type III: labels in which it is required studies of life cycle assessment (LCA), still being drawn up by ISO (Compromisso Empresarial para Reciclagem--CEMPRE, n.d.; GEN, 2004).
It is important to highlight that the sustainable aspects of a product only "exist" for the consumer if their presence is reported (Hartlieb & Jones, 2009). In practice, a product certification is essentially a tool to provide the consumer with simple, useful and reliable information on complex issues that are present along the production chain.
A number of authors, as Kroetz (2000 as cited in Bufoni et al., 2009) and Hartlieb and Jones (2009) state that the green labels are tools that help in the consumer raising awareness process, one of the great challenges of sustainability today. In this sense, Dharni and Gupta (2015) emphasize that works toward promoting a greater knowledge on the labels certification can help consumers to carry out better choices when buying.
Many companies see this context as an opportunity to differentiate themselves through the ecological appeal and being responsible for their products, point out Maimon (1994), and Daroit, Lima and Nascimento (1999 as cited in Polizelli, Petroni, & Kruglianskas, 2005). In the search for the advantages offered by the certification to consumers, however, these companies end up by developing their own communications on their products differentials--that is, they use the ecological appeal without the endorsement of a third institution (Type II certification, according to ISO classification).
According to Hartlieb and Jones (2009), the self-regulation fails in the accountability to the external public and these initiatives are often criticized. The GEN, non-governmental institution created with the aim to improve, promote and develop the use of green labels on products and services, advocates the certification of ISO type I, stating that a "green label" is awarded by an impartial third party to products that meet the environmental criteria established in the market (Global Ecolabelling Network - GEN, 2004). For easier viewing of the several certification possibilities, the US Environmental Protection Agency (US Environmental Protection Agency--EPA, 1998) developed the scheme presented in Fig. 1.
Organic certifications
In January 2011, a law was approved in Brazil, specific to the organic products market, in which it was established, among many other issues, a way to facilitate the recognition of organic products by the consumers: from then on, all the organic products sold in supermarkets and grocery stores should present the national label, called "Organico Brasil" in their labels. According to the Ministry, an organic product manufacturing process must comply with the manufacturing standards to prevent any contamination of the product with undesired substances, and its ingredients must be harmless to the consumers' health. In order to be considered organic, the product must be composed of at least 95% of organic ingredients, and those with lower proportion can only be called of "product with organic ingredients" and this portion must be at least of 70%. The products with less than 70% of organic ingredients cannot be sold as such and cannot have the Brazilian official label.
The organic labels certify that the products contain, among others, the following attributes: pesticide free, free of genetically modified/transgenic seeds, environmentally friendly, respects the workers safety, small-scale production, local production system, sustainable agriculture without use of chemical fertilizers (Associacao Brasileira de Organicos [ABI], n.d.; Conner & Christy, 2004), foods that are good for the health (ABI, n.d.; Linder et al., 2010).
The Brazilian label can be obtained only through a Certification per Auditing or a Participatory Guarantee System (PSG). In the case of auditing, the Ministry of Agriculture (MAPA) has currently eight accredited certifiers' agencies and it is important to point out that some certifying agencies have their own labels, which may also appear on the labels. The PSG in turn, are groups made up of producers, consumers, technicians and researchers who self-certify themselves. Both (certifying agencies and PSG) need to be registered and are inspected by the Ministry of Agriculture (Ministerio da Agricultura Pecuaria e Abastecimento, n.d.).
Francisco, Moura, Zanon, and Marinho (2009) in their research on consumer behavior when buying organic products conducted in a street market of organic products in Sao Paulo have pointed out that the certification is among the attributes considered most important when buying this type of product. According to the authors, certification is a marketing communication tool that reduces the gap between rural producers and the consumer, conveying credibility and enabling greater awareness on the processes involved in food production. However, they note that the increase in the number of labels can lead to confusion and distrust among consumers.
Consumer behavior and conscious consumption
The discussion on organic certification labels in the scope of this research falls within the theoretical framework of consumer behavior, which, according to...
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