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Buying green, but not for the planet
A green cart with a plant inside symbolizes eco-friendly shopping.
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Kai Ryssdal: Take a minute for me here and think back on your day. When you woke up today, did you by any chance flip on an energy-saving light bulb? Did you put organic milk in your coffee and then wash out that mug with eco-friendly soap? If you did, how did you come to buy those products in the first place?
The real reason a lot of people buy green isn't always Mother Earth. And the marketing of those products is starting to reflect that, as Andrea Gardner reports.
ANDREA GARDNER: First, I have a confession. When I buy environmentally-friendly products, it isn't for the planet. What I mean is I buy organic apple juice because I figure it's healthier for my toddler. Energy-saving light bulbs help me save money. And I think non-toxic cleaning products are just safer. I asked around, and many of my friends admitted the same thing.
Here's my yoga teacher Arianne.
ARIANNE: I mean, the side effects of it being good for the environment is great, and I'm glad, but my priority is really just my family and their health.
It turns out most people who buy eco-friendly products feel the same way. In a survey by market research firm GfK Roper, health and cost-savings beat out the planet as the main reasons people bought green products for their homes. Companies are taking notice and starting to market those products with messages like "better for you," "safer for you," "cheaper for you."
Jacqueline Ottman is a green marketing consultant. She says the trend mirrors the advice she's given clients for years.
JACQUELINE OTTMAN: Leave the planets and the daisies behind, and find the direct benefits that their products can support, such as health, superior performance, good taste, saving money, or even convenience. And then, the environment is a nice add-on benefit.
Sales of eco-friendly consumer products have been growing by double digits over the past five years. And they're expected to hit at least $300 billion this year. It's no surprise big players in consumer products, like Clorox and Procter & Gamble, are getting into the game, using the "What's in it for me" message to reach more consumers.
Take this ad for Clorox's green laundry soap. It shows a mom cleaning baby clothes, with a child nearby.
CLOROX AD: Clothes washed in Green Works detergent are gentle on skin, and have no harsh chemical residue. And since they're from Clorox, you can trust them to remove tough stains.
It's no accident the ad features a mother; they're among the prime targets of the new push. Even green marketing pioneer Seventh Generation has created a new marketing campaign to appeal to new moms.
Chuck Maniscalco is the company's CEO.
CHUCK Maniscalco: Because they are suddenly reassessing everything in their lives. There is nothing like having a toddler crawling around the floor to make you think hard about what's going on in your house.
Previously, Seventh Generation did little advertising, relying largely on word of mouth from dedicated environmentalists. But the company recently unveiled a nationwide TV ad campaign on shows geared toward women.
SEVENTH GENERATION AD: We want to talk to you about a revolution. Where no one holds their breath while they're cleaning. Seventh Generation. Protecting Planet Home.
Maniscalco says feedback for the new campaign has been generally positive, but he admits he had concerns about alienating his most eco-conscious consumers -- marketing folks sometimes call them "dark greens."
Los Angeles mom Jessica Bilandzija is one of them.
JESSICA Bilandzija: I think a lot of large corporations are getting in on it. And it becomes commercialized, it becomes trivialized in a sense. But at the same time it's like, well, if that's what we have to do in order for people to be aware of things. If we create less trash, if we create less toxins, then that's a win-win.
Jessica is a longtime Seventh Generation fan. Although she says, with the economy the way it is, she's been experimenting with vinegar and a little elbow grease, and she finds it works just as well as cleanser.
In Los Angeles, I'm Andrea Gardner for Marketplace.
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I posted an article last week on this very topic. Other than the most committed greens, self interest is the motivating factor for people seeking out green products. There are 2 major drivers of purchasing behavior: products perceived as good for your health, and products perceived as good for your budget. For marketers seeking to access populations beyond the 'True Greens', focusing on personal impact is essential.
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=1...
In the aftermath of the growing disregard for the man made nature of environmental damage especially in the US, the job of green marketing people will become even harder. Therev are many customers who are green in the head but not in the pocket. They will buy what's cheap. I wish you good luck and success.
P.S. my PhD is in Ethical Green Marketing
I have a serious problem with where the ingredients for our products come from. Increasingly, raw ingredients for "eco-friendly" products and others come from foreign countries. The EPA monitors only a fraction of these. Quality control is almost nonexistent in third world countries. Perhaps this has something to do with Ms. Kellerman's fear of an epidemic of health issues in young children. Product labeling is meaningless. And I find it very hard to trust a third world entity that is profit motivated.
Seriously? This 'confession' is...obvious? People buy green and sustainable products operating with enlightened self-interest. What is healthier for the planet IS healthier for me and my neighbors, by and large.
The ecological approach simply means that we take our interconnectedness into account when we are deciding what to do.
The planet is mostly an abstract concept. My baby, my health, the river next to the powerplant, the school near the factory-- these are concrete. I can influence these outcomes. I have to trust that by taking care of the details the agrigate, the summary, will take care of itself.
Change happens at the margins, right?
I'm just celebrating that 'green' options are becoming more available in the mainstream.
I agree that a product’s environmental impact is pretty far down on the list of product features consumers typically consider when making purchase decisions, even for the deepest green shoppers. Most consumers are going to first look at a product’s effectiveness and its price.
However, I don’t think that a product’s green qualities should be an afterthought in advertising if the product has impressive green credentials. First, there are consumers like commenter Arlene who will always be motivated by a credible, compelling environmental message. Second, marketing research done by my firm Green Meridian has found that about one-third of so-called mainstream women would like to buy more green products but are prevented from doing so by high prices and their low awareness of green brands. A majority are worried about the state of the environment. And while these women are still going to look at quality, price, and even how healthy a product is first, marketers can gain from addressing this group’s eco-worries (in an honest way that doesn’t fear monger).
As someone who works at the intersection of health and sustainability, I regularly see this issue come up: people simply want the products that they use to be healthy-—or, at the very least, not UN-healthy. Unfortunately, just because a product is labeled “green,†“sustainable,†“environmentally preferable,†etc., it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is. What’s more, such labels may fail to disclose whether a product exposes consumers to harmful pollutants. Too often, these marketing claims are unsubstantiated, or they greatly overstate the facts. My advice: always go for third party-certification. Thanks for the interesting story!
Rachel R. Belew
Public Relations + Communications Manager
GREENGUARD Environmental Institute
www.greenguard.org
This supports what we see on our green giveaways & deals site: Babies & Kids, Food, and Cleaning Products are the top visited categories. We emphasize price over environmental benefit because we've found through surveys and two years of traffic data that understanding why a product is green is the least of our readers' concerns. It's price, price, price.
Frustrating for those in the Environmental Movement? Perhaps.
Reality? Definitely.
I buy Eco-friendly products, including organic. My personal well being is certainly a factor, but the bigger picture is a HUGE motivator.
I'm always considering the impact and practices of a company and it's products. There are so many things to consider: clean water, air and soil. Fair and safe labor practices. To whom the company is contributing money. Sustainability and the impact on habitat. Supporting my local economy and farmers. The amount and type of packaging and what will end up in the landfill. The list goes on...
To stay on top of all these issues for everything I buy would be a full time job. So I can't, and don't. I just do the best I can. So I'm thrilled that businesses are feeling the pressure to change. It makes my job as a consumer much simpler.
However, just because a product now says "healthy" or "green" or "responsible" on the label doesn't mean it's true, at least not by my standards. Regulating the use of such phrases is often non-existent or not in line with what I think they mean.
So a note to businesses--marketing will only get you so far. You need to practice what you preach. And to those of you that do, you will have a loyal customer willing to spend a little more to support you.
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