Consumers Still Willing to Spend More Green For Green

More than a third of American consumers are still willing to shell out more greenbacks to buy products that are environmentally friendly, despite the toughest economy in decades. That's according to a report recently published by Mintel, an independent market intelligence firm.

In addition, half of the most committed shoppers say they are buying "as much or more" organic food as before the crash. Mintel said that this suggests that organic food is a deal breaker for many consumers, who are willing to make cuts in other areas of their lifestyle before reducing their organic purchases (rightly so).

Chris Haack, a senior analyst at Mintel, noted that while the two most mature green product categories,  food and beverage and personal care, took a big hit last year (like the rest of the consumer goods categories), just 21 percent of organic food buyers have cut down or eliminated organic purchasing, while 20 percent have coped by switching to less expensive organic options.

In fact, most green product categories held up as well as comparable non-green product categories in 2009, a tough year to be sure, while some even showed modest growth. And Haack notes that since only one-third of all consumers have tried organic or natural personal care products, there may be more room for growth in that market than in the one for non-organic personal care products.

Lately, the mainstream media has been dedicating a lot of air time to the resurgence of climate change doubt. These stories have also snowballed, somehow, into the contention that Americans are, by and large, ditching their concern for the environment out the window altogether.

If, like me, your intuition told you pundits overstepped their bounds, you now have some solid numbers to back you up. Marketing eggheads might not be the first people environmentalists think of as allies, but they and their clients have motivations even the doubters have to listen to: Making a buck.

Photo Credit: MVI