The Greenest Generation

15th of September 2008 - 1:36 PM

Who are the greenest generation? The internet research savvy Gen Y? The media cynics of Gen X?

The results may surprise you. US Research by ICOM Information hassurprisingly revealed that consumers over 55 years old are the mostprolific users of green products in the United States.

Both male and female groups 55 years and over reported aboveaverage usage of environmentally friendly home goods. Leading the waywas the 55-59 year-old female demographic, who was more than twice aslikely as the average consumer to use green products. Males 65-69 yearsold were second, more than 1.7 times as likely to use than the averageAmerican.

"The data is very telling for marketers," remarked ICOM VicePresident of Marketing Peter Meyers. "There is incredible interestbrewing for sustainable products. While the numbers show thatsignificant inroads have been made with the older demographics, theyalso suggest untapped potential in prime younger consumer groups toengage them with eco-friendly products."

In a rare insight to the penetration of green products into theAmerican home, 61.9% of survey respondents said that they do use sometype of environmentally friendly product. When asked why they elect topurchase eco-friendly goods, a leading 33% of the group selected theself-gratifying "makes me feel good about myself."
When asked whythey elect not to purchase or use green products, 50% of non-adopterscited high prices as the main factor. The next highest reason selectedfor avoiding green goods was "I do not believe that they are that muchbetter for the environment," at 17%.

Of those that said they do not use environmentally friendlyproducts, both male and female demographics aged 25-34 years old wereamong the "least likely to use" when compared with the nationalaverage.

"Younger demographics are still green, that is, inexperiencedwhen it comes to engaging with environmentally friendly goods," addedMeyers. "The data suggests that targeting these groups with morecalculated offers - such as at slightly more aggressive price points,appealing to their personal values or reinforcing the true benefits forthe environment - could introduce green products to a new, promisingconsumer base."

ICOM, an industry leader in targeted marketing powered byconsumer data, conducted the household products survey in March andApril 2008 with 6,036 people responding nationwide. ICOM is a member ofthe LoyaltyOne family of companies.