Journal News, Julie Moran Alterio
Published April 21, 2008
Compact fluorescent light bulbs, hybrid cars and pesticide-free produce
might be better for the planet, but they're frequently worse for your
wallet. How much extra are you willing to pay for an environmentally
friendly product?
If you're like most people, you're willing to pay around 10 percent more to go "green," according to consumer research firm Mintel.
Since many of today's eco-friendly alternatives are pricier than their
traditional counterparts - from nearly double for a gallon of organic milk to thousands more for a hybrid vehicle - consumers who are watching their pennies can be excused for asking themselves: Can I afford to go green?
But with soaring energy costs, rising concern about exposure to chemicals and increasing environmental awareness, consumers are also asking: Can I afford not to?
Kym Weiner, 26, of White Plains wanted to buy a Nissan Altima Hybrid in
December for her daily commute to the Somers headquarters of her family's business.
"I ended up buying the regular Altima because the hybrid was so new that it was too expensive," Weiner said.
She estimates she would have gotten 40 miles to the gallon with a hybrid as opposed to the 30 miles per gallon she's getting today. But that boost in fuel economy wasn't worth the extra cost for her. Not only was the base price of the hybrid about $3,000 more, but the favorable lease deal Weiner wrangled with the traditional car wasn't available for the hybrid.
Weiner said she goes green when there's not a significant penalty in cost or convenience. She brings her own canvas bags to the grocery store and shuns bottled water, for instance.
"I don't mind paying a little bit more, 5 to 10 percent more, a buck more. But if it's twice the price, no," she said.
Weiner is far from alone. Just a tiny percentage of consumers are willing to spend gobs more for environmentally friendly goods, said Colleen Ryan, a senior analyst at Mintel.
At the same time, interest in green products is on the rise across all ages and income levels. Mintel research from December found that 36 percent of adults reported regularly buying green products. Sixteen months before, just 12 percent did so.
Also, one in five people reported never buying green products in August
2006. In December, just one in 10 said that.
About half the 3,000 consumers surveyed by Mintel said they would like to buy more green products but found them too expensive.
"The vast majority of the people we talk to aren't willing to pay more than 10 to 15 percent extra. Eventually corporations are going to make products in that price range," Ryan said.
{}Making green choices
There are already beginnings of this movement. Earlier this year, Clorox, best known as a maker of bleach, introduced a new line of 99 percent natural cleaning products called Green Works. The kitchen and bathroom cleaners range in price from $2.99 to $3.39.
That makes Green Works about half the cost of Mrs. Meyer's, a popular brand in natural foods stores such as Mrs. Green's and Whole Foods.
"That seems like the beginning of a trend to mainstream these products not just to the people who are going to drive to Whole Foods," Ryan said.
That would be welcome news to consumers such as Ralph Rossi of Purchase, who was surprised by the prices when he recently stopped at Whole Foods.
"I call it Whole Paycheck. I never shop there, but I had to go once to pick up something ... I said, 'What did I buy for $100? I got nothing here,' " he recalled.
But as a father of two boys, 5 and 7, Rossi said he prefers his sons to eat organic food.
"I'll spend the extra money to buy food that doesn't have pesticides that harms my kids. I don't worry about myself, but I want them to be untainted, especially today with all the cancers you hear about," Rossi said.
Roberta Lasky, a mother of two from Chappaqua, doesn't buy organic milk
because no one in her household drinks much dairy, but she does opt for
antibiotic-free chicken and wipes her countertops with Mrs. Meyer's
cleaners.
"It smells really good, and it's safe, and the kids are constantly eating off of our granite, so I like to use Mrs. Meyer's for that," Lasky said. "Fantastic or Formula 401 are $2 and Mrs. Meyer's is $5. It's a $3 difference. If it's under $10, I'm willing to buy it."
Lisa Freeman, editor in chief of Yonkers-based Consumer Reports' ShopSmart magazine, said she believes everyone can go green without breaking the bank.
"There are sacrifices in going green. Either you are going to spend more or you're going to use less. You have to change the way you do things," Freeman said.
Freeman, a Valhalla resident whose husband is "obsessed with compact
fluorescent light bulbs," said going green can actually save money.
"Don't drink bottled water. That's green in itself, and it will save you money. Also, those (compact fluorescent light bulbs) will save you a lot of money. You'll save energy and slash your utility bills if you replace all your lights with those. You can (also) save money by not buying all those cleaners. You can use baking soda, lemon juice and white vinegar. That can save you money," she said.
Green is slowly getting more affordable as more retailers begin to stock the products.
"Wal-Mart, Target, Sam's Club, Costco. They're all carrying more green
products," she said.
{}Green on the plate
If your budget is very tight, choose wisely when it comes to organic food, Freeman said.
"You don't have to buy packaged goods that are organic," she said. "What's meaningful is buying meats, milk, chicken, eggs, definitely baby food. When it comes to fruits and vegetables, you can go nuts spending a lot on organic."
The Environmental Working Group created a list ranking the pesticide residue on popular fruits and vegetables to help consumers figure out when it's important to spend more for organic options.
"Apples and peaches and nectarines and grapes and strawberries, you should definitely buy organic, but you can probably skip organic oranges and bananas and buy those conventionally grown," Freeman said. "When it comes to vegetables, potatoes and lettuce and spinach and celery are the kinds of food that retain more pesticide. But you can skip asparagus. But we highly recommend buying organic when you can. It's not only better for the environment but it can be better for you, too. Some people even say it tastes better, especially when you go to farmers markets and get it really fresh."
{}Avoiding the hype
Being a savvy and skeptical shopper is even more important when you are
making green choices, Freeman said.
Bamboo towels, for instance, have been touted as a green alternative,
perhaps erroneously.
"It's a renewable resource, but there's no telling how that bamboo was
processed into that towel. There might be heavy-duty chemicals," she said.
Likewise, labeling a towel "organic" only speaks to how the cotton plant was grown, not how the fibers were processed after they were picked.
She also warns shoppers to be alert to hype.
"I see a lot of magazines that have their big green specials, and they show sweaters made out of recycled materials for hundreds of dollars. Are people going to spend hundreds for a recycled sweater? Is it worth your money? Probably not. Go to the local consignment shop and get something that's used and didn't take any energy to produce," Freeman said.
Pamela Pinto-Sessions, a single mother from Tarrytown, said that she fits green products into a limited budget by choosing the products most important to her.
She and her 4-year-old are vegetarians, and organic produce is a top
priority.
"We eat a lot of vegetables. Yes, we buy organic, but because we are not eating meat, that cuts our bills," Pinto-Sessions said. "Dairy products - there is no way I'll ever buy anything but organic because of the hormones - but then I'll make other sacrifices and buy conventional avocados and make my bread instead of buying it for the month."
Pinto-Sessions recently purchased the 2007 green-living guide "The Green Book: The Everyday Guide to Saving the Planet One Simple Step at a Time," which advised her to unplug electronic devices at night. "My utility bill for gas and electric in December was $89 and the last bill was $81," she said.
She also splurges on organic towels and sheets.
"They are really expensive, but I'm also not opposed to going to Goodwill to buy clothes for (my daughter), and that saves money on our clothing so that I can, on certain things, buy organic or green-friendly products because they do cost more money," Pinto-Sessions said.
{}Budgeting for green
Diane MacEachern, the author of the just published "Big Green Purse: Use Your Spending Power to Create a Cleaner, Greener World," said people can afford more green products than they think by shifting spending.
"People will say to me, 'Organic milk is $6 a gallon and that's too much for me.' But then they are buying bottled water. Some people probably spend $10 or $15 a week on bottled water. What if you took the money from that purchase and bought organic milk or produce instead? You're not spending more money out of your budget, but in my opinion you're spending it in a far wiser way," MacEachern said.
Ossining resident Sharon Rowe said she was green when she struggled to make ends meet and hasn't changed her ways now that she owns a successful company, Eco-Bags Products Inc.
In fact, it was her green instincts that led her to found a company that makes reusable grocery bags.
"I took some time off when I had a baby, and it was way less expensive to use vinegar and water, which is a really good cleaning solution, rather than buy all the toxic stuff that was on the market," she said. "I bought fruits and vegetables with less packaging, and it was always cheaper.
{}Shades of green
Figuring out when to go green and when to conserve hard-earned greenbacks can be challenging as the marketing messages multiply.
Suzanne C. Shelton, founder of a public-relations firm that specializes in the natural-products market, said she's seen signs of "green fatigue" among consumers in focus groups during the past six months.
"Every time we test environmental messages - all of our clients are product people and they all want to put the message out there, 'We're green, buy our stuff' - the more we test that, the more we see the people in our focus groups just give it a giant eye roll," Shelton said.
Mixed messages can be confusing, too, as in the case of compact florescent light bulbs, which use less energy but contain toxic mercury.
"What consumers will do when they are confused is nothing. They get
paralyzed," Shelton said.
Krystal Williams, senior editor of Green Living Ideas, said it would be
exhausting - and expensive - to put every purchase under a green microscope.
That's why Web sites such as hers offer an edited selection of ideas that consumers can digest easily. A recent article laid out options for
earth-friendly workout wear complete with recycled rubber sneakers, for
instance.
"A good thing about the green movement is it's one day, one choice, one step at a time, so as you gain awareness, if there is something in your life you want to change, the resources are now available to let you do that," she said.
Reach Julie Moran Alterio at
jalterio@lohud.com or 914-666-6189.
{}Resources
{}Green Living Ideas
http://green livingideas.com
{}ShopSmart
www.shopsmartmag.org
{}Environmental Working Group guide to pesticides in product
www.foodnews.org
{}Big Green Purse
www.biggreenpurse.com
