It’s probably no huge surprise that while most of us like to talk the green talk, we’re a lot less likely to walk the walk if it’s inconvenient. In fact, a study from the Shelton Group released this week found that when purchasing products, 38 percent of respondents would choose convenience, 35 percent would choose comfort, but only 26 percent would choose the environment when making a choice.
I’ve always been a strong believer that if you want people to go green and make environmentally sound decisions, you have to make it easy for them, and small steps should be rewarded and encouraged. Green products need to be of equal quality to their non-green counterparts, or it’s just not going to work, and this survey shows that.
With this in mind, companies that are taking the steps to encourage greener behavior should be rewarded, not disparaged for not doing enough. For example, Scott’s Naturals products only contain a portion of recycled paper material, a fact that has brought the ire of many environmentalists. But if this keeps the TP softer and makes people more likely to buy the product, it’s a huge step up for someone who used to use triple-ply Quilted Northern, and a huge win for the environment.
Finding that sweet spot, in business and communication, where you pull at the environmental goodness heartstrings, while still selling a product that everyone can enjoy, is going to be critical if we’re going to make any real change for our planet. It simply can’t be an all or nothing proposition.
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