Wash Away Your Greenwash Products

Consumers expect to pay a premium for products with the sensitivity to environmental impacts which qualifies the products to be called green. But Drexel University researchers saw consumers in their studies get mighty irritated when the consumers came to realize products were actually greenwashed instead of green. Remove such merchandise from your shelves and racks.
     Greenwashed items are those touting green characteristics while having what turn out to be only trivial modifications in the direction of environmental sensitivity. Examples the researchers found include a shampoo promoted as “crafted with bio-renew” that had a natural sugar added, but no chemicals removed; diapers advertised as “pure and natural” which used organic cotton in the outer shell, but the conventional diaper materials in the surfaces contacting the baby; and a printer calling itself eco-friendly, when the only difference from usual printers was use of a thermal printing method.
     Offering products which deserve to be called green is good. A University of Indiana analysis of 75 product introductions indicated green claims improve the attractiveness of offerings and of the stores carrying them. This doesn’t uniformly equate to increased purchases of those products, though. Increased profitability often comes from purchases of items not carrying the organic designation. The presence of socially conscious products makes it more likely the customer will purchase products that do not embody social consciousness. It’s as if having chosen the store is enough to satisfy the values.
     Even when this sort of thing doesn’t occur within the same shopping trip, it can occur over subsequent shopping trips. That is, if someone purchases a socially conscious item on this trip, they become more likely to purchase next time an item which shows little attention to social consciousness.
     Consumers who favor organic products think of themselves as being environmentally conscientious, and this leads to another indirect explanation for the increased profitability from organic items. The explanation applies to categories like cleaning products. Studies at Central Michigan University and National Dong Hwa University found that consumers believe green products are less effective than others. Therefore, they use more of them for the equivalent task, resulting in larger buys.
     Greenwashed products fail on both sides. Those willing to pay more to use the products won’t buy the greenwashed. Those not willing to pay more lose trust in your business ethics.

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