Green products are becoming increasingly important for consumers in Europe

It also provides information on how consumers are influenced by environmental aspects in their purchasing decisions and how eco-labels are perceived by consumers. The survey results presented below are based on responses from over 25,000 EU citizens from the 27 member states.
In addition, new data on EU Ecolabel-certified products and licences issued were published for September 2023, which are published every six months.

Environmentally conscious consumers

Respondents were asked to indicate the importance they attach to the price, quality, brand and environmental impact of a product when making a purchase decision. After quality and price, environmental impact emerged as the most important criterion. 73% of respondents stated that the environmental impact of products is 'very important' or 'rather important' for their purchasing decisions.

Around 80% of respondents agree with the statement that buying products with a lower environmental impact makes a difference to the environment, while around 60% say they have bought products specifically because of their lower environmental impact.

EU Ecolabel: Increasing awareness and trust

According to the results of the survey, 38% of EU citizens are now aware of the EU Ecolabel. This represents an increase of 11% since 2017. 38% of respondents also state that they 'often' or 'sometimes' buy products labelled with the EU Ecolabel. In addition, around 75% of participants trust that products with the EU Ecolabel have a lower environmental impact than similar products on the market.

From the results of the Eurobarometer survey, it can be concluded that awareness of the EU Ecolabel is increasing among EU citizens, while at the same time trust in the label is growing. The survey results are also available at national level. The full report, together with country-specific factsheets in all EU languages, will be published shortly (LINK).

Highest number of EU Ecolabel products registered

Another piece of good news is that in total 2584 licences for 88,921 products (goods and services) had been issued on the EU market by September 2023. The number of licences issued has therefore increased by 9% since March 2023, while the number of certified products has increased by 1% in the same period. Both represent the highest registered values for the EU Ecolabel.

Labelled products

Among the labelled products, paints and varnishes as well as tissue paper and handkerchiefs continue to be the most successful product groups in terms of the total number of labelled products (with 35,424 and 15,055 labelled products respectively). Together with textiles (9250 products) and surface cleaning products (7012 products), these 4 groups account for around three quarters of all certified products, whereby the predominance of paints and varnishes is mainly due to the way in which products with different colour variants are counted. For the European market as a whole, the product groups paper and hygiene paper, textiles and cleaning agents are particularly important.

The product groups with the highest overall increase since March 2023 are furniture (+366 products), graphic paper (+355 products) and textiles (+282 products).

Change in the retail sector

The increase in the number of certified products and licences issued, as well as the percentage increase in trust and awareness of the EU Ecolabel, indicate that more and more companies and consumers are developing an awareness of the sustainability of goods and services. Accordingly, the EU Ecolabel is attracting increasing interest from both companies and consumers. Continuing this trend is essential, as it makes an important contribution to a more sustainable future for all.