Hard as it is to believe, next year will be the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, first celebrated in the USA on April 22, 1970.
That event, conceptualized as a nationwide grassroots demonstration on behalf of the environment, drew over 20 million participants at thousands of schools and local communities.
Today, while environmental concerns are a global phenomena with widespread grassroots support, a universal respect for our planet’s fragile environment and a deep-seated sense of sustainability are not yet what anyone could call natural human traits or tendencies.
However, there can be little doubt that the momentum for sustainable business practices and individual actions is escalating. Here are some statistics and data that I have come across recently worth sharing with you:
- there are 63 millions consumers in the USA eating organics, driving hybrids, and ordering fair-trade coffees. This represents 30% of the American market, a group which has proven willing to spend a good premium (usually over 20%) on clean, green products over non-sustainable alternatives.
- Baby Boomers and Millennials are twice as likely to associate their own personal values with companies and brands (that’s good for Green Marketing initiatives).
- Perceptions of environmental, ethical, and social stewardship are the fastest growing contributors to conssumer brand values (Z+ Partners).
- The market for “all natural” cleaning products is over $100 million per annum and is escalating rapidly (Forbes.com)
- Sales of organic and all natural products have increased 18% to 25% per year for five consecutive years.
No wonder marketers see Green as the “New Black” for today’s shoppers!
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A new survey from Grail Research reveals that 85% of consumers are either unaware of, or cannot recall, the green messages and green programs from companies considered to be at the forefront of sustainability initiatives.
Importantly, the research study also showed that consumers rely on product labels (63%) and word of mouth (45%) as their primary sources of information about green companies and their products. Advertising (38%) and corporate web sites (18%) are well behind as sources of information regarding green credentials.
Released in late September, The Green Revolution report is based on a nationwide survey of U.S. consumers.
Key findings include:
· 84% of consumers currently purchase at least some green products.
· Price is the main reason cited (69%) by non-green consumers for not purchasing green products.
· Green consumption has penetratged all demographic segments, but the majority of green consumers are married women with no children under 18 in the home (57%).
· The vast majority (93%) of consumers feel that a company’s “greenness” is at least somewhat important to their purchase decision.
Most importantly, consumners expect green products to be on par or superior to their non-green counterparts with regards to safety (72%), healthiness (70%), quality (66%) and price (65%).
Significantly for marketers, across all product categories almost all consumers who buy green expect to remain green. Plus, those who don’t buy certain categories of green products intend to do so in the future.
It certainly looks like green is the “new black.” This is no passing fad.
What do you think? Add your comments below.
GreenBiz.com is hosting a free webinar on October 15th featuring a panel of experts covering the topic The Green Marketing Landscape: Ratings, Labels, and Certificates.
With the field of Green Marketing in constant flux, many marketers are confused on how their organizations’ “green” marketing messages need to comply with changing customer expectations and legal requirements.
Moderated by GreenBiz.com executive editor Joel Makower, this webinar is designed to address “how to navigate the ins and outs of green marketing effectively and legally in today’s world.”
Topics to be discussed include:
* How to avoid issues surrounding false or deceptive advertising allegations related to environmental or green messages.
* How to motivate mainstream consumers to make sustainable choices.
* The latest developments in green claims validation and product certification.
While this webinar will undoubtedly come from a U.S.-centric perspective, it should nevertheless be informative and useful to marketers around the globe.
For more details and to register for this free webinar, click here.
If you attend and want to share your thoughts, please add your comments below for all to read.
It seems like almost everyone these days wants a Green Brand Name as a way to connote their environmental credentials.
But you have to be careful. There are millions of skeptical consumers (and bloggers) out there!
For instance, guess what the following ten Green Brand Names have in common:
BabyGanics
Wheego Whip
TruGreen
CitraSolv
Motorola Renew
Sheep Poo Paper
Samsung Reclaim
Miessence
Barbie BCause
Pepsi Natural
You’d probably say “not much” at first glance. But all 10 have been named in the Top Ten Worst Green Brands in a blog posting at Fast Company.
Have a read on why these brands have made this “Top Ten” list. You can even add your own suggestions on green brands that are painful to say!
Walmart will soon start requiring manufacturers to compute the full environmental costs of making and distributing their products.
The world’s largest retailer wants to use this information to create a simple green-tag program so its customers will see green label ratings alongside prices on a wide range of goods and products.
“I envision the day that you look at a piece of apparel, you flip a tag over, and learn about how sustainable it really is,” said Walmart Chief Merchandising Officer in an article yesterday in the Wall Street Journal. “It would be like the nutritional labeling is today. But there is some standarization that needs to take place.”
Walmart is reportedly making this move to get ahead of potential U.S. environmental-labeling regulations, something the company sees an inevitable and following similar requirements in Britian and Japan.
If Walmart is successful in implementing this system with its diverse supplier chain, it will certainly redefine how products are produced and sold, and add another criterion to the purchase decision process of millions of consumers.
It’s a great step by an organization that is clearly trying to reduce its environmental footprint while remaining the world’s largest retail operation.
Green Marketing, Marketing | Steven Howard | 
November 24, 2009 12:24 am | 
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