Shoppers slowly adopt green goods, practices 

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 9/5/2008 1:40:00 PM

New York – Consumer behavior is getting greener, if only bit by bit, a new survey from WSL Strategic Retail shows.

The most recent Pulse survey by WSL found American consumers have increased their eco-friendly activities from 1% to 4% over last year on seven of eight “Green behavior” factors.

Relatively flat were the proportions of respondents who are buying energy-saving CFL light bulbs (up 3% points) and choosing energy-efficient appliances (up 2% points).

Perhaps more promising, 31% of consumers are committed to using reusable grocery bags, and 27% say they avoid buying products that have “too much packaging.” More than one fourth of the Pulse respondents said they at least look for biodegradable or recyclable packaging.

The number of Pulse respondents who said they seek to shop stores “where sustainability is a priority, like Wal-Mart” was up four percentage points to 22%.

In the most striking demographic result, 84% of those over 55 said they are “trying to conserve energy,” compared to 67% of those under 35, WSL reported.