"Greenness" of products sway purchasing decisions

A study released today found that environmentally-safe product attributes are influencing the purchasing habits of buyers.

However, those that would like to buy green products are often not finding them on store shelves because the majority of companies still view green products as nothing more than a marketing tool.

The study surveyed over 6,000 people at 11 retail stores. Two percent of respondents said they were "committed" to buying environmentally-friendly products, while 52 percent said they were either "proactive" about weighing environmental factors or "influenced" by environmental factors. The study noted that the "proactive" and "influenced" groups were the most important groups for retailers to market.

To sum it up, the study found that the majority of consumers are not yet committed to buying only green products but that awareness about environmental issues has increased enough to where the "greenness" of a product is serving as a sort of tiebreaker to differentiate it from less green competitors.

For more info on the study, check out this story from Business Green.