It gets worse. According to Shelton, packaging with “green” logos and messaging can actually turn off much of the mainstream market. They have a strong bias suggesting that green products (at least in certain categories) do not perform as well as familiar brands.
“For example, If Clorox wants sell a green detergent to a mainstream buyer, they wouldn’t put a big green label on it. They’d put a big “Clorox” label on it with ‘green formula’ in small print underneath,” Shelton explains. “That’s one of the key things in selling green to the mainstream. The product must perform equally well or better than their trusted brand.”
Of course, people with different worldviews also shop using their own values. Shelton breaks the mainstream roughly into four ideological “slivers, not chunks:” Actives, Seekers, Indifferents and Skeptics. Of all the groups, Actives are the easiest to engage with green messaging, but none can be taken for granted.
“To change someone’s buying behavior, you must reach both their emotional and rational brain,” Shelton says. “We now know a lot about what does not work. Saying ‘Be green,’ for example, is too broad a challenge. You need to scale down the mission. Many in the mainstream need very specific, small action steps they can take, not big concepts. Give them quick, easy wins. Script the critical moves precisely. To lose weight, switch to 1% milk.
“Remember,” she adds. “It’s not: Analyze—Think—Change.
It’s: See—Feel—Change.
In your opinion, how authentic are the majority of green claims made by building product manufacturers?
RESPONSE PERCENT
Highly Inauthentic - 4.1%
Inauthentic - 20.0%
Average/Neutral - 55.2%
Authentic - 20.0%
Highly Authentic - 0.7%
Green Builder’s recent survey of building professionals finds that most are either neutral or generally positive about manufacturer claims.
THE GENDER GAP
In general, women are almost twice as likely to “vote with their wallets” for companies with a green reputation.
GREEN BEHAVIOR - MEN, WOMEN
Always choose products with eco-friendly packaging
MEN - 16%
WOMEN - 26%
Will pay substantially more for eco-friendly products
MEN - 11%
WOMEN - 18%
DON’T bother to check purchases are from ethical companies 24%
MEN - 24%
WOMEN - 15%
DON”T feel shopping green makes a difference
MEN - 19%
WOMEN - 10%
DON”T feel it makes a difference if a company follows green practices
MEN - 15%
WOMEN - 8%
Agree the ‘green movement’ is JUST a marketing ploy
MEN - 16%
WOMEN - 8%
Source: Crowd Science Just Ask! Survey; 2010
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