Green Piece

A recent study by Yahoo! found that while 77% of consumers describe themselves as "Green,"actively living their lives conscious of their health and environment, and 57% say they have made a green purchase in the past six months, not all green consumers can be expected to behave alike.

Yahoo! researchers, for example, break green consumers into four main groups, and though nothing is revolutionary in the findings, the percentage breakdowns seem pretty reasonable when compared to most of the research and anecdotal evidence we have seen.

So here are the breakdowns per the recent Yahoo! study:

Deeply Committed:

• 23% of market... early-adopters of green who are looking to make a long-term impact
• Mostly adults (35+)
• Skew female
• More educated
• Higher percent live in metropolitan areas
• Respond most to the "positively impact the environment" message.
  

Trendy:

• 24% of market... trend-setters who are motivated to be green to look cool
• Younger (18-34)
• More ethnically diverse
• Respond to messages about "everybody else is doing it," newest technology, cool/hip.
  

Practical:

• 13% of market... motivated to be green by immediate benefits such as saving money or improving health
• Skew a bit older (45+)
• More with children
• Over-index in rural areas.

Passive:

• 17% of market, recognize green as important but place the responsibility more on others than themselves
• Younger adults (25-34)
• More women with kids
• Respond to messages about providing a better life for their family.
  

Other:

• The other 23% of the market says they don't care about the environment, or they say they care, but they don't take any action.