Consumer Sentiment On Green Topics Moves from Skepticism to Activism

February 13, 2009

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Online commentary gathered from blogs and discussion board posts indicates that consumer conversations are shifting from simple discussion and debate on sustainability topics to indications of personal action to create change, according to a comparison by J.D. Power and Associates of online conversations regarding sustainability topics that occurred between 2007 and 2008.

“Brands that are cognizant of this important shift and manage messages about their products and services accordingly have the ability to capitalize on changes that many consumers are making in their everyday lives,” said Janet Eden-Harris, vice president of J.D. Power and Associates Web Intelligence Division.

During the second half of 2007, just nine percent of all sustainability conversations mentioned a brand by name. By June 2008, this figure grew slightly to 11 percent.

Conversations about sustainability topics have more than doubed in number from the first quarter of 2007 to the fourth quarter of 2008. There was a marked rise in conversations in mid-2008 as gas prices peaked, with almost 160,000 conversations noted in June 2008.

In early 2007, discussions about sustainability were dominated by people who were confused by conflicting evidence surrounding climate change and uncertain of their stance on the subject as well as by “negators”–those who denied the existence of climate change and other environmental concerns and actively attempted to sway opinions of others. However, by early 2008, acknowledgement of the issue and concern about the environment grew considerably among online contributors. By December 2008, more than 7 out of 10 online posters who mentioned sustainability topics indicated they were concerned about the environment, and nearly one-half of posters reported that they were actively doing something about it, such as cutting back on electricity usage, reducing driving, recycling and buying more “green” products.

Online commentary among consumers who are considered “rejecters”–those who are skeptical or ambivalent about environmental concerns and do not make purchase decisions based on environmental factors–declined from a high of 22 percent in early 2007 to only three percent by the end of 2008.

The proportion of bloggers who consider themselves “activists”–those who actively encourage others to modify behavior–increased considerably during the past six months of 2008, growing from eight percent during the first half of 2008 to eighteen percent of the total discussion set.

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Reader Comments

and exactly who are the “negators”? the republicans lead by bush and chaney…who lied and denied climate change for the last 8 yrs. and what did the republicans complain about in the stimulas? wasted money on green research..these same documented republicans have now cemeted themselves in a corner
with their lies and denial.we are talking about trillions of dollars here this is one of the many reasons the usa is no longer a world leader…because of failed republican leadership….

sustainable guy | February 15th, 2009

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