Super High-End Home Theaters
Fascinating Sci-Fi Home Theaters
Gorgeous Celebrity Home Theaters
Our favorite themed home theaters.
Print
Email
Comments (4)
Share
Why Aren’t Consumers Buying Green Products?
Most consumers (75 percent) say that buying green is important to them. However, most consumers aren't willing to pay premiums:
- 35 percent wont pay any premium
- 50 percent won't pay more than a 5 percent premium
- 75 percent won't pay more than a 10 percent premium
View slideshow for breakdown of findings.
"CE brands need to commit to some of this investment especially at the low-to-mid range of these products (where prices can influence a consumer's purchase dramatically," Retrevo says.
Retrevo goes on to suggest that the government invest in promoting green product purchasing — a "short-term fix to incentivize consumers while we work on expensive longer term solutions."
False Claims of Energy-Efficiency
Confusion may also make consumers reluctant to buy green products. Walk down the aisles of any Best Buy or Home Depot and you'll see countless products that tout themselves as green or energy efficient.
The overkill inevitably leads the consumer to wonder if any of it is real. Enter "green washing," a new addition to the lexicon that refers to unjustified green claims and insinuates that there are a lot of manufacturers that say their products are more green than they actually are.
There is a lot of so-called green washing going on, according to James Farnham. He's the president of Cleantech, a green builder and consultancy aimed at broadening the clientele for green technology.
Cleantech, which aims to offer homebuyers three levels of tiered green system packages, says it observed green washing when researching products to include in its homes. Farnham says Cleantech devoted a lot of resources to weeding out the not-so-green green products.
It's a lot to ask of consumers to do the same level of research, although government certification programs such as Energy Star help.
It's no surprise that consumers are confused … and hesitant to buy green.
Why do you think consumers aren't buying green products? Leave a comment below.
Subscribe to the CE Pro Newsletter
About the Author
4 Comments
The reason our kids are failing science and math in school is the same reason why the vast majority of us (US populace) will ultimately forget about ‘green’ - not enough people understand it to make these kind of decisions in their life.
As a techie person, I can tell you how many Watts of lightbulbs are burning during a typical evening, and why LEDs are better than CFLs. But this is way above the crew cuts of most people, so I’m not surprised to hear that nobody wants to pay to be green.
Even as a techie, I can’t reliably tell you where my electricity comes from. I think there is some nuclear power, maybe some power plant burning natural gas, maybe even some hydropower, so I can’t even tell you what exactly I’m saving when I switch off lights around the house, but I do it anyway. bah.
Green is propaganda. I nor most people couldnt care less about it unless it can be proven to save me BIG bucks. Most of the hype is typical left wing dung. That and marketing hype to get a few more dollars out of your wallet.
I will buy what I want regardless of if its green or not. Call me selfish, call me irresponsible. I call me “live my life as I see fit” as long as I am responsible and not by the guideline of same radical agenda by some pompus libereals.
Green is overated just as much as “humans are the sole cause of global warming.” Yes hypocrisy and idiocy thrives. Welcome to the demise of our country with the “new world order.”
“However, most consumers aren’t willing to pay premiums:
35 percent wont pay any premium
50 percent won’t pay more than a 5 percent premium
75 percent won’t pay more than a 10 percent premium”
Seems like you mean: MOST CONSUMERS (75%) WILL PAY UP TO 10% PREMIUM! Wich is it???
I would agree wholeheartedly with this. With all the talk of Green building and builders and the overall society focusing on Green- we have not seen any noticeable percentage of clients actually asking us about Green. We bring it up and most clients nod there head like “oh, ok” but it does not seem to have any weight in the buying decision. It still comes down to the bottom line price and features.