In recent years, in response to consumers' increasing demand for “greener” products due to growing environmental awareness, more and more businesses have turned to eco-labels to assert the environmental benefits of their products or services. However, it remains unclear how consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) varies with different types of eco-labeling, especially concerning food products harvested from forests. In this study, we employ discrete choice modeling to uncover consumers' preferences for “green” maple syrup—syrup made with sap tapped from sustainably managed forests—under four eco-labels: self-claimed, bird-friendly, verified by a voluntary conservation program, and certified by a third-party. Our findings reveal that the WTPs for “green” maple syrup under eco-labels are higher than that for organic maple syrup, except for the third-party certified label. One plausible explanation is that some consumers may perceive sustainability certification as greenwashing, leading them to be skeptical of the claimed benefits.

中文翻译：

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消费者是“绿色”爱好者还是怀疑者？来自非木材林产品的证据


近年来，随着消费者环保意识的增强，对“绿色”产品的需求不断增加，越来越多的企业开始使用生态标签来宣示其产品或服务的环境效益。然而，目前尚不清楚消费者的支付意愿（WTP）如何随不同类型的生态标签而变化，尤其是从森林收获的食品。在这项研究中，我们采用离散选择模型来揭示消费者对“绿色”枫糖浆的偏好——用可持续管理的森林中的汁液制成的糖浆——有四个生态标签：自称、鸟类友好、通过自愿保护验证程序，并由第三方认证。我们的研究结果表明，除第三方认证标签外，生态标签下的“绿色”枫糖浆的支付意愿高于有机枫糖浆。一种合理的解释是，一些消费者可能将可持续性认证视为绿色清洗，导致他们对声称的好处持怀疑态度。