Building trust: Consumer awareness, acceptance and attitudes related to European aquaculture and the potential effects of greenwashing

Abstract

The paper examines consumers’ awareness, attitudes and acceptance of sustainable aquaculture practices while examining the impact of greenwashing on consumer perceptions. We conducted an online survey with 2,500 participants from five European countries: France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK. The results revealed that consumer awareness of aquaculture production systems remains low across European consumers, despite generally positive attitudes and acceptance toward sustainability in aquaculture. The study identifies three distinct consumer segments based on their perceptions of greenwashing: unimpressed, trusting and uninformed. Each segment differs in terms of awareness, attitudes and acceptance of aquaculture practices, with the trusting group showing the highest levels of confidence and acceptance, while the uninformed group shows the lowest levels of awareness and confidence.