Lisa Simpson
Apr 21,2010
In: Finance

Green Shopper Turning the Tide of Consumer Buying

Green shopper turning the tide of Consumer buying.

Despite the recovery being weak in the aftermath of the worst ever recession, the sales of green products are picking up and the trend is growing. According to experts the shoppers, despite their slim purses, are willing to spend the extra buck to support the green movement.

The products that are environmentally sustainable are termed ‘ethical’ terms. It covers a wide range of subjects from energy saving bulbs to other organic stuff. The sales went up by nearly 8.7% last year calculating to $38 billion according to Packaged Facts.

Obama’s repeated commitment to fight the climate change and a series of scandals related to scammed food together with convincing marketing of green products have persuaded more and more Americans to go green. Till now Americans are lagging behind Europe in the green trend.

Twenty four year old Lindsey Hoffman while picking up organic lettuce from Whole Foods Market, Manhattan said, “I’ve been reading about carbon footprints and though I’d prefer to go to a farmer’s market, this is better than anything else. When I walked in I saw gorgeous asparagus but as it’s $4 a bunch and flown in from Peru, I stayed away.”

Organic items have always taken pride of place in the supermarkets but today the offerings have been increased from jumbo retailers like Wal-Mart and Safeway. The price too has come down and the conventional products now have to compete with the organic.

According to experts the world economic crisis and the fight against global warming have caused consumers to think before purchasing – focusing on finance as well as the environment.

Scott Bearse of Deloitte Consulting said, “The financial crisis reminded people of the unintended consequences of collective behaviour.” His view is that once people turn to green they tend to remain green.

Hartman Group is a marketing and consulting company that focuses on sustainable items. Its representative Shelley Balanko said that buyers now understand that green products are characterized by improved quality and this causes less environmental damage. She said that the shoppers now reasoned, “If I buy this, it will be less wasteful and I’m going to get good value for my dollar.”

Some firms are directing the attention of the consumers to changes in lifestyle. One of them is Kimberly Clak – a mega producer of paper towels and diapers. It has just introduced into the market Scott Naturals – paper items that use recycled materials. Its spokesperson Kay Jackson said, “There is much more of an interest in this in the last couple of years.”