Digital CPG Blog

Green may only be the new black when times are good.

“As recession gripped the country,” reports the New York Times, “the consumer’s love affair with green products, from recycled toilet paper to organic foods to hybrid cars, faded like a bad infatuation. While farmers’ markets and Prius sales are humming along now, household product makers like Clorox just can’t seem to persuade mainstream customers to buy green again.”

Sales of Clorox’s Green Works have fallen to about $60 million a year in comparison to its year of launch when sales topped $100 million.

“Every consumer says, ‘I want to help the environment, I’m looking for eco-friendly products,’ ” said David Donnan, a partner in the consumer products practice at the consulting firm A. T. Kearney. “But if it’s one or two pennies higher in price, they’re not going to buy it. There is a discrepancy between what people say and what they do.”

Does this surprise you?

Photo Credit: epSos.de

You may not think Generation Y is all that different (or maybe you think they’re way different!), but here is proof they are. A new survey released a couple weeks ago “shows 19 percent of the youngest adults say they’re willing to pay ‘significantly more’ for green goods. That’s more than twice as many as any other age group,” reports Portfolio.

That’s a significant premimum on green products. And that’s in line with Gen Y’s do-gooder approach to life. If you’re a manufacturer with green or organic products, this bit of research would be a great starting point for your marketing strategy.