The authors of Okala provide you with insights and practical solutions to the latest sustainability issues facing product development organizations and individuals today. We welcome your questions and responses!
It should come as no surprise that surveys of consumers indicate a strong desire for verifiable green marketing claims. For the past two years claims of ‘green marketing’ have expanded to a point where consumers have become overloaded regarding such marketing claims. Recent consumer marketing data confirms the skepticism related to this overload.
In July of 2008 the Gandalf Group spoke with 1500 adult Canadians about their views and attitudes regarding the impact of environmental issues. The responses indicate that design teams and marketers need to pay greater attention to consumer attitudes if they hope to connect with consumers concerning ecodesign strategies.
The results:
Confirming these attitudes in the U.S., an Ipsos Reid study conducted in the spring of 2008 indicated that at the time, seven in ten Americans either strongly or somewhat agreed that when companies call a product ’green‘ it is usually just a ‘marketing tactic.’ U.S. consumers, the study reports, seem to be wary of firms who label products as ‘green’ or ‘environmentally friendly.’2