Eko-logiskt : eko-märken som meningsskapande för konsumenter

Sammanfattning: The aim of this thesis is to, through a consumer perspective, study how organic labelling and trademarks can be seen as meaningful in everyday life. Besides interviews the research is based on nethnography, which includes researching consumer stories revealed on interactive blogs on the Internet. The Swedish organisation for organic certification, KRAV, has been the dominant actor on the food market since 1985. However, recently the European Union introduced a label to which standards KRAV complies with and in some aspects is stricter. The EU-label is perceived as more doubtful than KRAV, which most Swedish consumers have high confidence in. Eco-trademarks, such as the food chain ICA:s I love eco, enables the consumers to buy more green labelled food in the same supermarket where they usually do their shopping. The expansion of the brand also makes it possible to buy more eco-items to a price that is perceived as cheaper than eco-products of other brands. Consumers’ perception of organic labels is closely connected to nature and the traditional rural production before the green revolution. This interpretation, I claim, is a significant part of the consumer’s eco-logic which determines whether an aspect is reasonable or not. A locally – but conventionally – produced grocery is seen as more environmentallyfriendly than an organic imported equivalent.