Interpreted from the Green Gauge Report, here are the four main factors that influence Americans’ (not so) green behaviors:
1) Lack of actionable information, with half of consumers who claim they,
- do not have the information to be personally involved in increasing their green behavior
- aren’t sure which products and packaging materials are recyclable
- would do more for the environment if they only knew how
- they have questions about the true impact of green products
2) Lack of convenient solutions to accommodate people’s increasingly busy lifestyles, with half admitting they know they should make the green lifestyle changes but are too busy
3) Cost of green products compared to traditional alternatives
4) Need to protect personal/family health is cited by an equal number of consumers (52%) as looking to personally protect the environment, as reason why they seek environmental information.
Sounds fair enough!
Lots of blame has been placed on the American consumer for resisting the green wave. Maybe policy makers, influencers, and green marketers ought to show some more empathy towards themselves and others, and make sure they deliver on the following seven green marketing promises:
- Clear, simple ‘how to’ green messages, asking people to do one thing at a time
- Information support structures to help people navigate the green landscape, truly designed to make their lives easier, not burden them with more
- More visible and clear recycling directions on product packaging
- Trusted sustainability standards for all products
- Provide green solutions that are at least as easy and convenient as traditional products and services
- Lower costs so that cost does not become a barrier to adoption, including creative financing solutions for higher ticket items, eg, community purchase plans
- Whenever possible tie in personal/family health into the environmental equation.
I would like to end by commenting on my use of the word marketing. I have noticed ‘marketing’ is getting a bad rap in some of the more pure green circles. That is unfortunate. Marketing, like any powerful tools, can be used for either positive, or negative means. According to the American Marketing Association,
Marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders.
The larger organization at stake is the world, and its stakeholders are all the people on the planet. The value to be created is a sustainable, healthier, greener world.
With a good 15 years of greenness behind me ( and even more as I was one of those nature girl scout save the planet type of kids ) I have a very different perspective .
From an I sell green perspective I have some thoughts too
green used to be in the average consumers mind a post hippie birkenstock tree hugging thing – it was odd – and it’s own seperate movement – you were either one of them or not – could a navy blue suit have a green side – definitely but they would nover bring it to the office – they were secret hippies !! This at some level still prevails
When recycling became everyday ( and yet i am astounded that some communitities still don’t have recycling) You could be part of the movement w/o much effort. It fed into the look good surface green-ness that I feel hinders real green-ness
Commentary from years of no thanks – not interested include utter and total disbelief in the need, to an emphatic we are not one of those hippie types, to it’s just not conveniant – my favorite and most classics lines of resistance include my wife makes those decisions ( ha – excuse me sir but you don’t have your own thoughts on the matter? ) or my housekeeper doesn’t speak english …therefor she or he can be exposed to household toxins just like you??
I could write for ions about what I think about all that – suffice to say when we run out of water how convenient will THAT be – and that of course is a rather simplified comment but it speaks to what I call the green resistance
Now that being green is “popular” I struggle deeply with the fact that you can buy kitchy green products, drive very swank green cars, add solar panels to your home and yet where is the THINKING green or the I believe green? It’s more look good green than ever.
I struggle with cause green marketing that USES the issue vs creating or fostering change – not to say that impact isn’t happening at some level – it is – but not in a deep or lasting way – these are opinions of mine that have me wonder –
What if green is nothing more than a trend?
Mother Earth aka Karen Hanrahan
http://www.bestwellnessconsultant.com
Of course, you are right Karen. There needs to be a profound change in values as well. However, my experience both as a marketer and a psychotherapist have taught me that the best way to deal with resistance, is not to fight it, but to go with it, and to start where people are, as difficult as it may be to accept. I do believe a good place to meet most Americans is as consumers. Then it becomes a matter of how to guide them towards greener pastures.
ah the visions; i am wearing a green gauze dress and am being led down a verdant path by a lovely lady on a sleek white horse…suddenly, –a pasture–, calm and gentle people picking marguerites and smiling…now ladies, this is indeed –marketing–..i see, i feel, i belong.
you have –fostered –this inviting climate, now i must return to my realistic surroundings and offer the prospect of a healthier environment to my audience in their own terms.
language is the vehicle, intent is the fuel, i have a better understanding of the word marketing as i notice that economics drive or impede the movement to sustainability.
if companies make it feasible to purchase non toxic products and low carbon emission items, the demand will soon compensate their efforts. but they must lead.
our role is to offer a little light on the way, like easy to interpret charts, graphs and statistics, or links and facts as lamarguerite has done, as well as Mother Earth.
Nadine, you may want to visit Mary Hunt’s website, In Women We Trust. Mary, a loyal reader of this blog, is doing important work regarding sustainability standards.
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