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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop and apply a framework for understanding consumer responses to ecolabelling.Design/methodology/approachFrom a consumer perspective, ecolabels are tools for supporting decision making with regard to environmentally significant products. The paper proposes an adoption of innovation framework for understanding consumer responses. The framework is applied in a mall‐intercept survey of the early adoption of a new ecolabel, the MSC label for sustainable fishery, in Denmark.FindingsEarly adopters of a new ecolabel mostly employ a high effort adoption process. Starting the adoption process depends on both motivation (intention to buy sustainable fish products) and ability (issue‐relevant knowledge). Whether and how quickly the consumer completes the adoption depends on his or her motivation, past experience with using ecolabels, and trust in the endorsing organisation.Research limitations/implicationsEnvironmental and product‐related factors did not differ between respondents. Hence, a complete account of the importance of these factors for the adoption and (especially) diffusion of the label is not provided.Practical implicationsConsumers scoring highly on both issue‐relevant knowledge and motivation are the most likely innovators and early adopters. Their high level of expertise means that they do not need a lot of explanation for understanding the label and its self‐relevance and their strong motivation means that they will search for more if they need it (and if it is not too difficult to get).Originality/valueThe paper makes both a conceptual and an empirical contribution, which are of value both to practitioners (ecolabel promoters and users) and to research on ecolabel effectiveness.

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