Climate & Environment
Traffic Light Labelling
Definition
Traffic light labelling is a front-of-pack information system using red, amber and green colour codes to signal whether a product is high, medium or low in attributes of concern — salt, sugar, fat and calories in nutrition (pioneered by the UK Food Standards Agency), and extended experimentally to environmental impacts such as carbon footprint. Research consistently shows colour coding improves comprehension and shifts purchases compared with monochrome numerical labels, particularly for quick decisions and lower-literacy shoppers.
References
Source imported for editorial provenance.
This reference provides supporting context for how “Traffic Light Labelling” is defined and used.
Overview
How it is used
The format structures nutrition labelling policy (and its Latin American warning-label variants), eco-label pilots, and shelf-edge environmental scoring experiments by retailers.
Why it matters
Traffic light labelling is the proof that how information looks changes what people choose — design as public policy.