Comparing Designs for Restaurant "Eco-Labels"

Summary

The aim of this study is to compare responses to 5 different types of labels for restaurant menus: 1) Control (non-sustainability-label: neutral labels not referencing environmental sustainability); 2) Numeric text-only sustainability label; 3) Endorsement text-only sustainability label; 4) Endorsement icon-only sustainability label; 5) Endorsement text-plus-icon sustainability label. Participants will be randomized to 1 of the 5 labeling arms above. Each participant will view 3 labels (shown in random order) from their randomly assigned labeling arm and respond to survey questions about each label (e.g., attention, perceived effectiveness).

Conditions

• Food Preferences

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Neutral labels

Participants view neutral labels (QR codes with and without neutral text) for menu items

BEHAVIORAL

Numeric text-only sustainability labels

Participants view labels with numeric text depicting the greenhouse gas emissions associated with production of the menu item

BEHAVIORAL

Endorsement text-only sustainability labels

Participants view labels using text to endorse menu items as having low environmental impact

BEHAVIORAL

Endorsement icon-only sustainability labels

Participants view labels using icons to endorse menu items as having low environmental impact

BEHAVIORAL

Endorsement text-plus-icon sustainability labels

Participants view labels using text and icons to endorse menu items as having low environmental impact

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Harvard Pilgrim Health Care

  collaborator OTHER

• Stanford University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Anna H Grummon, PhD · Assistant Professor

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2023-08-07

Primary Completion

2023-08-07

Completion

2023-08-07

Countries

• United States

Study Locations