Why People Buy Greener Products (Hint: It Isn't Always Because They Love The Environment)

This post is sponsored by UPS.

The same shopper who loads her grocery cart with organic milk, locally grown produce, and Seventh Generation laundry detergent might also be packing her reusable tote bags into a gas-guzzling SUV. That may seem crazy - until you realize that the reason most consumers use greener products isn't their concern for the environment.

"Saving the planet, for most people, it just sounds too enormous," says Suzanne Shelton, CEO of Shelton Group, a sustainability-focused ad agency based in Knoxville, Tenn. "The questions that typical shoppers are asking," she says, "are 'Is this good for my family?' or especially in the case of things like cars or appliances, 'Will this help me save money?'"

Those down-to-earth motivations explain, at least in part, a phenomenon that ad agency Ogilvy & Mather calls "The Green Gap." A recent study by its Ogilvy Earth division found that while more than 80% of American shoppers claim to want to make more sustainable choices, fewer than 20% follow through consistently when it comes to what they buy.

Shelton advises her clients that the key to reaching all those mainstream consumers who make up the "gap" is to be sure that greener products never come at the cost of comfort or convenience. She often tells the story of a misstep Frito-Lay took with its snack brand Sun Chips, introducing a fully biodegradable bag. "Conceptually, Americans loved the idea," she recalls of the bags, which were made from plants and could break down in compost. "But the catch was that those bags were exceptionally noisy and crinkly - so uncomfortable and inconvenient." That led to widespread complaints and a swift end to the experimental packaging.

There is another factor that could be in play for the typical SUV-driving, organic food-eating shopper. Shelton explains, "People go out with good intentions, buy an Energy Star product, but then use it more than they otherwise would have, so that they wind up consuming even more energy in the end." It's what psychologists call "moral licensing": giving ourselves permission to make a bad choice because we've previously made a good one.

Shoppers give that same moral license to companies they perceive as being green, making brand names almost as important as organic labels or eco-certifications that may appear on packaging. "A strong environmental reputation is really important to today's consumers," says Shelton. Her research shows that most Americans think of Toyota as one of the top five "green companies" simply because their pioneering hybrid model Prius is firmly entrenched in their minds. It's one more example of the different types of logic people use when making environmental decisions ... whether they're conscious of that logic or not.

- Written by Jennifer Keeney Sendrow

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