The patrons of green products are facing the burnt of economic conditions. While some are still thinking, most have gone back to cheaper non-greens
In August, Lloyd Alter came up against the limits of his environmental convictions when he had to replace the leaky roof on his house in Toronto.
“For years, I said I would install a reflective metal roof,” because it helps to reduce heat and lower energy costs during the summer, said Alter, an architect who writes about design for Treehugger, a sustainability-focused website. But “when push came to shove,” he said, “I bought asphalt (one which costs almost half of the metal roof and made from a a petroleum-based material).”
It is the kind of reality check that many eco-conscious consumers face these days. And like Alter, most have resorted to cutting their spending on a variety of items, particularly green products, which typically cost more than their non-green counterparts and can be difficult to justify, or even afford, when budgets are tight. In a bad economy, what used to seem essential can quickly become optional. At the same time, what was once merely fashionable can become a matter of necessity. Activities like growing and canning food, raising chickens and making your own clothes and other household goods are now seen by many as a way to economize while staying true to green values.
David Quilty, a blogger in Santa Fe, New Mexico, has stopped buying organic cotton T-shirts and shopping for produce at Whole Foods. And after years of buying packaged cleaners and soaps from eco-friendly companies like Method and Seventh Generation, he can no longer afford them, he said, so he has started cleaning his home with a solution he whips up himself.
Not coincidentally, his widely read environmental blog, The Good Human, recently ran an article entitled “23 Ways to Use Vinegar for Nontoxic Cleaning.” One of a number of similar features that have appeared on the site in the past year, it is a sign of the blog’s shift toward a do-it-yourself mentality.
The same shift in focus is evident on other environmental blogs. Alter said he sees it playing out daily on Treehugger. “Had you come on the site four years ago, before the recession, you would have seen a post every day for a new bamboo shirt or bamboo sandals,” he said. “We do almost none of that stuff anymore, because people don’t have the money to buy it.”
Not surprisingly, the green products industry is feeling the pinch. Laura Batcha, Executive Vice President, Organic Trade Association, said that while the organic-goods sector has boomed in the past eight years, going up to $29 billion from $9 billion in sales, the industry’s yearly growth rates dropped to less than 6% in 2010, from between 15 and 20% previously.
And some brands have felt the pain more than others. According to SymphonyIRI Group, a market research firm that tracks mass-market stores (excluding Wal-Mart), sales of Clorox Green Works tub cleaner and dish detergent each dropped by more than 30% in the 12-month period ending in early September. And another popular green brand Seventh Generation has seen a drop in sales of items like paper towels, which are down by more than 15% during the same period. Meanwhile, pricier items like hybrid cars have seen sales decline by more than 20% in the past year, according to Baum & Associates, another market-research firm.
Despite all that, Batcha insists that the green industry is continuing its “uphill climb” (the industry’s growth rates are back in the low double-digits this year, she said, although she was unable to provide specific numbers), and most people aren’t making a choice between green and cheap. At the moment, however, many eco-minded consumers seem to be wary of both.
Not long ago, Alter found himself in a grocery store, trying to decide between $10-half-kilogram organic bacon and a nonorganic brand that cost $5. In the end, he didn’t buy either one.
For Erin Peters, a stay-at-home mother of three who began using green products four years ago, the do-it-yourself approach was a response to what she thought was a temporary financial hardship. But despite forgoing things like green cleaning products and organic food, Peters said, she thinks she is living in a more sustainable way than she did before.
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In August, Lloyd Alter came up against the limits of his environmental convictions when he had to replace the leaky roof on his house in Toronto.
“For years, I said I would install a reflective metal roof,” because it helps to reduce heat and lower energy costs during the summer, said Alter, an architect who writes about design for Treehugger, a sustainability-focused website. But “when push came to shove,” he said, “I bought asphalt (one which costs almost half of the metal roof and made from a a petroleum-based material).”
It is the kind of reality check that many eco-conscious consumers face these days. And like Alter, most have resorted to cutting their spending on a variety of items, particularly green products, which typically cost more than their non-green counterparts and can be difficult to justify, or even afford, when budgets are tight. In a bad economy, what used to seem essential can quickly become optional. At the same time, what was once merely fashionable can become a matter of necessity. Activities like growing and canning food, raising chickens and making your own clothes and other household goods are now seen by many as a way to economize while staying true to green values.
David Quilty, a blogger in Santa Fe, New Mexico, has stopped buying organic cotton T-shirts and shopping for produce at Whole Foods. And after years of buying packaged cleaners and soaps from eco-friendly companies like Method and Seventh Generation, he can no longer afford them, he said, so he has started cleaning his home with a solution he whips up himself.
Not coincidentally, his widely read environmental blog, The Good Human, recently ran an article entitled “23 Ways to Use Vinegar for Nontoxic Cleaning.” One of a number of similar features that have appeared on the site in the past year, it is a sign of the blog’s shift toward a do-it-yourself mentality.
The same shift in focus is evident on other environmental blogs. Alter said he sees it playing out daily on Treehugger. “Had you come on the site four years ago, before the recession, you would have seen a post every day for a new bamboo shirt or bamboo sandals,” he said. “We do almost none of that stuff anymore, because people don’t have the money to buy it.”
Not surprisingly, the green products industry is feeling the pinch. Laura Batcha, Executive Vice President, Organic Trade Association, said that while the organic-goods sector has boomed in the past eight years, going up to $29 billion from $9 billion in sales, the industry’s yearly growth rates dropped to less than 6% in 2010, from between 15 and 20% previously.
And some brands have felt the pain more than others. According to SymphonyIRI Group, a market research firm that tracks mass-market stores (excluding Wal-Mart), sales of Clorox Green Works tub cleaner and dish detergent each dropped by more than 30% in the 12-month period ending in early September. And another popular green brand Seventh Generation has seen a drop in sales of items like paper towels, which are down by more than 15% during the same period. Meanwhile, pricier items like hybrid cars have seen sales decline by more than 20% in the past year, according to Baum & Associates, another market-research firm.
Despite all that, Batcha insists that the green industry is continuing its “uphill climb” (the industry’s growth rates are back in the low double-digits this year, she said, although she was unable to provide specific numbers), and most people aren’t making a choice between green and cheap. At the moment, however, many eco-minded consumers seem to be wary of both.
Not long ago, Alter found himself in a grocery store, trying to decide between $10-half-kilogram organic bacon and a nonorganic brand that cost $5. In the end, he didn’t buy either one.
For Erin Peters, a stay-at-home mother of three who began using green products four years ago, the do-it-yourself approach was a response to what she thought was a temporary financial hardship. But despite forgoing things like green cleaning products and organic food, Peters said, she thinks she is living in a more sustainable way than she did before.
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
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