The Cost of Going Green
When it comes to polling consumers about their environmental beliefs, I admit to being a skeptic. People just don't tell the truth. They want to, but they just can’t help themselves.
Ask a consumer if he/she supports prohibiting air pollution from an industrial facility and you will get roughly the same response as if you asked them if the United States is the greatest country on earth. Sierra Club, Greenpeace and hundreds of other environmental groups have done an excellent job of making it “un-American” to be anything other than an unqualified supporter of everything green. The problem is that a large majority of consumers don’t really seem to mean it. What they mean is that so long as it does not cost them any money, they will be supportive. A recent study done by Grail Research entitled “The Green Revolution” provides some illuminating poll results along these lines.
In September of 2009, Grail Research polled 600 consumers about their purchases, or possible purchases, of green products. There are many significant points made in the Report, but let me focus on a few of the more interesting findings:
1. 85% of those polled stated that they have bought green products. However, only 8% of consumers buy green for a majority of their purchases (these 8% are referred to as "Dark Green" consumers);
2. 93% said that a company being perceived as green was important to their purchasing decision, yet about 80% were unable to identify green companies;
3. 15% of those polled were non-green consumers and, for 70% of them, their top reason for not going green was that the products were too expensive. Of the remaining 85%, a sizable majority will consider a green product only if it is superior or at least on par with its conventional counterpart;
4. Of the various reasons given by consumers for not buying green (too expensive, the recession, don't feel a need, not easily available, green is a fad, and the product reviews aren't good), price and the economic recession are the main factors preventing consumers from buying green products in new categories.
I know there are a lot of ways to interpret polling results, but to me, these answers suggest that lip 
service is being paid to being green, with the pocketbook voting otherwise. Put another way, consumers apparently want to buy green, but they need to know the cost of doing so.
Is it a bad thing that people are green primarily when it doesn't cost them anything? Not necessarily. Especially in this economy, it's consumer nature. But do we have to ignore that nature? These findings indicate that advancing an environmental agenda is likely to be a lot more successful if there is an economic advantage (which is often the case) rather than lamenting that the end of the world is near or that your puppy is going to die. It's just a thought.
