Clorox Green Works, Burt's Bees, Tom's of Maine Top U.S. Green Brands

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2009-green-brands-rightClorox Green Works edged out other U.S. consumer brands in a consumer rating of top U.S. green brands.

Burt's Bees, Tom's of Maine, S.C. Johnson & Son and Toyota rounded out the top five, in order, according to the 2009 Global Green Brands study, which also polled consumers in the UK, China, Brazil, India, Germany and France.

The research finds that consumers in the more developed U.S., UK, Germany and France tend to have more congruous attitudes about green brands. Consumers in Brazil, India and China tend to seek out green items and favor companies they consider to be green.

Consumers in all nations agreed that green products cost more. By and large, they said they intend to spend more on green products this year. Consumers in India (78 percent), China (73 percent) and Brazil (73 percent) said they were likely to spend more on green items than last year.

"While reducing toxics heads the list of consumer priorities the data also show that the public holds companies accountable for good environmental behavior across the board," said Dan Esty, chairman of Esty Environmental Partners, which co-sponsored the research. "Consumers expect companies to recycle, use energy efficiently, reduce packaging, and pursue green innovation. So to gain loyalty, a company's environmental strategy must be comprehensive."

Consumers in the U.S., Germany, China and India agree that the state of the environment in their country is "on the right track." Those in the UK, France and Brazil think the opposite.

Consumers cite different influencers on their purchase decisions. In the U.S. and China, recommendations from friends are the most effective. In France, Germany and India, past experiences with the product prove most influential. Consumers in the UK and Brazil pay attention to the media.

The research was conducted by: Cohn & Wolfe; Landor AssociatesPenn, Schoen & Berland Associates; and, Esty Environmental Partners.

Do you want your brand to stand out from others? A separate brand study, the U.S. Climate Brand Index, found that the top brand spots were dominated by manufacturing and auto brands with big ad budgets.

Environment + Energy Leader