82% of Consumers Buying Green Despite Battered Economy

The above is a title to a press release recently released by Green Seal and EnviroMedia Social Marketing. I’ve included a link at the bottom of this post if you would like to read the entire article.

Unfortunately, the bold headline is not nearly as promising once you uncover some of the details within the press release.

The press release states that “four out of five people say they are still buying green products and services today–which sometimes cost more–even in the midst of a U.S. recession”. While technically true, these figures are somewhat misleading.

In the body of the press release it states that “half of the 1,000 people surveyed say they are buying just as many green products now as before the economic downturn, while 19 percent say they are buying more green products. Fourteen percent say they are buying fewer environmentally green products”.

So technically, I guess one could say that approximately 82% are consuming green despite the tough economic times (~50% + 19% + 14%)but this obscures a few important nuances…

- Those in the “half of 1,000 people” group that is “buying just as many green products as before…” may in fact be buying very few green products to begin with – they just won’t be buying less.
- Those in the “14% group” may still be buying green, but will be buying less green due to the tough economic times.

I guess the good news is that 19% of those surveyed intend to purchase more green products despite the gloomy economic outlook.

Here is the line to the full release if you are interested in taking a look for yourself.

82 Percent of Consumers Buying Green Despite Battered Economy

Look forward to your thoughts,

JKL

© 2009, Justin. All rights reserved.