A slight majority of consumers think a company can be environmentally responsible without making green products, according to research from the Natural Marketing Institute.
Companies have two broad approaches to the sustainability marketplace: creating an environmentally-friendly or socially-responsible product, or taking some other sort of corporate action. Such corporate actions can include building a green office/facility, using renewable power or donating time or money to causes.
Not surprisingly, LOHAS consumers, the opinion leaders in the sustainability space, set the bar much higher, with half believing a company that does not produce some variation of a green product cannot truly be considered environmentally-friendly. Since LOHAS consumers predict how mainstream consumer opinion will shift in the future, companies claiming to be environmentally-friendly must consider greening their product mix to avoid diminished consumer trust as the green market evolves, according to the 2008 LOHAS Consumer Trends Database.
