Helping ‘green’ products grow
When customers reach the cash register, they often forget their eco-friendly attitudes. Some of this behavior can be attributed to insincerity or posturing, but much more of it stems from the failure of businesses to educate consumers about the benefits of green products and to create and market compelling ones. Businesses can do a lot more to help would-be “green” consumers walk their talk.
The impulse to go “green” is spreading faster than morning glories. Organizations of all types are launching green campaigns—from London’s congestion charge on automobiles to Wal-Mart Stores’ push to sell organic foods. In almost every opinion poll on the subject, consumers say they are very concerned about climate change, and they connect the dots back to their own purchases, according to a 2007 McKinsey survey of 7,751 people in Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, the UK and the United States. Indeed, the poll shows that 87 percent of consumers worry about the environmental and social impact of the products they buy. But when it comes to actually buying green goods, words and deeds often part ways. No more than 33 percent of the consumers in our survey say they are ready to buy green products or have already done so.
