CLIMATE CHANGE, EQUITY and APATHY: UK consumers do not put their MONEY where their mouths are!

Article from Freshinfo.com reporting the ZERO impact on sales of fresh produce of airfreight stickers. The question the TallEconomist must ask is -- what would the consumer response have been if the stickers had indicated the "sustainable development" cost or benefit of the product?

Tesco and M&S admit airfreight apathy

November 10, 2007
Freshinfo 7 November 2007
Controversial airfreight stickers added to packs of fresh produce by Tesco and Marks & Spencer since April have had no impact on sales, the two retailers have admitted.
According to The Grocer, while neither retailer gave away the exact figures, they both said there was no direct evidence to suggest consumers were so concerned about their carbon footprints that they were turning away from airfreighted produce.
The news became clear during the Soil Association's consultation into whether or not to bar organic status from produce that had been flown to the UK.
Experts suggest consumers either do not care about the carbon footprint of such products or misunderstand the link between the label and the product's environmental impact.
But Tesco said the situation may have changed since sales figures were reviewed in September, and that it was still committed to developing more detailed carbon labelling for shoppers.
"It's still early days for the scheme," said a Tesco spokeswoman. "These findings are not in the same league as carbon labelling, where we haven't changed our thinking. Airfreight is a very immediate, visual thing, while carbon labelling will be much more detailed, so the two can't be compared. We are still committed to establishing an industry-wide carbon labelling system with the Carbon Institute and the BSI."