A lot of people have been asking what is going to happen to 'green' products because of the recession. Those who attended TrendSchool know we discussed how many products are being repositioned to being both a solid value and green, and using green to be a part of the value equation. As a result, 'green' is suprising a lot of people by doing well in the current economy...
"Datamonitor shows 458 launches so far in 2009 of package-goods products that claim to be sustainable, environmentally friendly or 'eco-friendly.' If that pace holds all year, it will triple the number of green launches last year, which in turn was more than double the number in 2007. Seventh Generation CEO Jeffrey Hollender said his company's sales were up 50% last year and 20% in March year over year despite Clorox, Church & Dwight and now SC Johnson entering the space. 'The good news is that in general these products are faring better than most categories,' he said. 'A lot of people would be desperate to have 5% growth.'
Consumers are still buying sustainable lines despite their higher cost.
Nielsen Co. data show sales growth of organic food at 5.6% year over year in December from a year ago, though that's down from the double-digit pace of years past, and its SPINS tracking service showed sales at natural-food stores up 10.9% to $4.2 billion last year. Though growth slowed in the fourth quarter, it was still more than 7% in December, far healthier than the rates at even top-performing grocery retailers such as Walmart or Costco."
AdAge even provides 4 tips for green marketers...
1. Combine environmental with economic sustainability.
Consumers define sustainability more broadly than the environmental concerns marketers mainly have tended to focus on, and they care more about social and economic issues such as poverty, employment and health care more than environmental concerns by a substantial margin, according to research by shopper-marketing agency Saatchi & Saatchi X. The agency is pitching the idea that green marketing is tired but that "blue marketing," which encompasses environmental with other social causes, will work better.
2. Retailer support matters.
With 298 different environmental certifications for consumer brands, consumers often don't know what to believe regarding green claims, said Curtis Munk, VP-insights for shopper marketing at Saatchi X. As a result, they look to retailers to be the arbiters, placing the most trust in more-green-positioned retailers such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, but also some others, such as Walmart, that have been working hard to burnish their green credentials.
3. Opportunities remain.
Research by Nielsen's concept-testing service Bases shows that environmentally focused Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability consumers have above-average purchase intent for personal care, pet products, and refrigerated, shelf-stable and frozen foods but perceive only average current product availability in those categories.
4. Address skepticism about price and quality more than the actual green claims.
Bases found more than 80% of consumers in all categories—including 89% of those most inclined to buy green but also 80% of those unconcerned about green claims—found green claims completely or somewhat believable. Only 9% to 16% of consumers said they believe green products aren't as green as claimed—fewer than half the proportion who said they completely believe such claims. Yet a vast majority of consumers said they believe green products cost more and don't perform as well as others.