Let’s do the numbers:

  Women account for 85% of all consumer purchases, and we’re buying more than cheese doodles and diapers:

• 91% of New Homes
• 66% PCs
• 92% Vacations
• 80% Healthcare
• 65% New Cars
• 89% Bank Accounts
• 93% Food
• 93 % OTC PharmaceuticalsAmerican women spend about $5 trillion annually, which amounts to over half the U.S. GDP. But we’re not just buying at supermarkets and shopping malls. Women represent the majority of the online market, too.

When it comes to making their money matter, nearly 50% of women say they want more green choices.

• 37% are more likely to pay attention to brands that are committed to environmental causes.
• 25% of all products in a woman’s shopping cart nowadays are environmentally friendly.These numbers don’t only apply to married women who are managing two paychecks (theirs, and their husband’s). According to the research, single women are more influential today than they were ten years ago (In 1998, only 69% of women between 18 and 24 were involved in home electronics purchases. By 2008, that number has grown to 91%, in part driven by the prevalence of personal electronics such as cell phones and computers.)

What’s more, “prime time” women – those aged 50-70, according to marketing maven Marti Barletta – “will control the majority of the purchasing power in the U.S.” within the next two decades – giving them unprecedented opportunities to become the drivers of new pollution-free products (Mary Hunt has been charting some of these trends over at InWomenWeTrust.com).

Women are past the point of letting manufacturers tell them what to buy. We can — and should — tell companies what to make – based on the purchases WE make day after day.

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Our message seemed like news to most of the audience. The way women spend their money matters; women can use their money to protect the planet; and women need to lead the way because … who else will? Most of the audience seemed surprised to learn that they, collectively, spend $.85 of every dollar in the marketplace – even though they acknowledge being the chief shoppers for their household. Gary passionately argued for consumer intervention with manufacturers sooner rather than later, given how quickly time is running out on our chance to reduce climate change and protect dwindling water supplies.

The audience asked informed questions that got to the heart of some of the issues they find most challenging about going green. When one woman asked how she could reduce all the packaging waste her shopping generates, most of the rest of the crowd nodded in agreement. Everyone is tired of throwing away so much paper and plastic when they shop. I reminded folks about the options they have to buy products in concentrated versions or in bulk. Gary noted that, because plastic packaging is made primarily from petroleum, the increasing costs of a barrel of oil may at some point make plastic wrap unaffordable for anything but premium products.

An equally critical issue for the audience had to do with greenwashing. People want to buy the best green choice, but often can’t figure out what it is, given all the superficial claims manufacturers make that their products are “natural” or “biodegradable.” I reminded people to look for third-party verification of the manufacturers claims — organic to substantiate growing processes, Green Seal to verify claims in cleaning products about ingredients — and noted the up-and-coming availability of life cycle analysis efforts like the SMaRT standard, which looks at the eco-impact of a product from the beginning of the manufacturing process through the product’s use and ultimate re-use or disposal.

During lunch, Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State under the Clinton Administration, spoke of the need for women to help other women understand the critical issues of the day and make changes that will make their lives — and the world — a better place. Said Albright, “There’s a special place in hell for women who DON’T help each other.” That was probably the best applause line of the day!

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All of which makes for a very exciting time to have a new environmental book out – especially one that aims to make sense of what’s “green” versus what’s being “greenwashed.”  That’s the question I’ve been asked most frequently, especially during the dozens of radio interviews I’ve done since the book’s pub date March 1. Everyone wants to do something to make a difference. Not everyone knows where to start, or what purchases are really worth the money. Words like “natural,” “biodegradable,” and “eco-friendly” throw people for a loop. Do they really mean the product or service deserves Mother Nature’s green star? Not necessarily, and a big part of my job right now involves directing shoppers to certified goods that actually live up to their marketing claims.

I’ve been impressed that so many people have turned out to my book signings – given that another big concern for people who want to go green is lack of time! Most people don’t realize that being “eco” can actually simplify your life –  sometimes I need to roll out the light bulb example to prove my point (a compact fluorescent light bulb lasts ten times as long as an incandescent, so put one in and forget about it for seven years…).

Speaking of light bulbs, perhaps what’s most gratifying about the book is watching the proverbial light bulb go on behind people’s eyes when they realize how much clout their consumer power has. This has been especially true for women, most of whom haven’t realized before that, because they spend $.85 of every dollar in the marketplace, they have the power to tell manufacturers what to make (rather than constantly hear from companies about what they should buy).

If not just the book sales, but the e-mails, too, are any indication, women are glad to throw off the old cliché about “loving to shop” as they embrace their potential to become the true arbiters of the new green marketplace. What’s not to love about that?

The post EARTH DAY COUNTDOWN: The (Green) Maelstrom appeared first on Big Green Purse.

  A recent story in the New York Times focused on the work the EcoMom Alliance is doing to build a membership base of mothers who are looking, not for the answers to “why” as much as the answers to “how”? Through their workshops, houseparties and web outreach, they’ve helped educate 9,000 moms about ways they can reduce the size of their environmental footprint and help protect themselves and their kids from environmental threats.

“EcoMommy Blogs” have been making a similar contribution for years. Some of my favorites are listed in my “Purse Strings” blogroll. They include Nature Moms, Moms Go Green, EnviroMom, Mindful Momma, and Healthy Child.

I’ve always said, women are the CEOs – chief environmental officers – of their households. This is true in spades for moms, whose green purchasing decisions now have the potential to accelerate the transition to a green economy – and safer planet – like never before. It’s exciting to see moms coming together to be green at a time when their involvement in and enthusiasm for the environment couldn’t be more valuable.

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I started my swap out with Kellogg Organic Raisin Bran, but my corner store no longer carries it. The local Trader Joe’s picked up the slack with their Raisen Bran Clusters, which I actually like better than Kellogg’s (sorry Kellogg, you snoozed and lost). 

This weekend I also found a GREAT coffee bean, also at Trade Joe’s that doesn’t need cream to soften it. It’s their “Cafe Femenino,” which I picked up because the label described it as “bright, nutty and sweet” (and it tiz). What I read on the back of the can later has sealed the deal for all future purchasing. “[Cafe Fermenino]…is produced by an all women organization in a effort to offer the women of Peru a better life.”

What a great way to start each day. I support fair world trade, help women in Peru have a better life, keep the birdies of Peru happy as well, not to mention lowering my cholesterol while increasing my protein intake. Not a bad swap out at all.  On top of it, that new little morning habit reminds me of other “green” habits I could be creating.

I should probably write Trader Joe’s and thank them, but first, thank YOU for putting the swap out idea out there. I’d like to read what others are doing, too.”

———-

What a great example, Mary. Thanks for sharing – and for putting other inspiring suggestions on your own blog, www.inwomenwetrust.com.

Want to join Mary in switching to eco-friendly products? Get more information on the “One in a Million” campaign at BigGreenPurse.com.

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Aurora Organic Dairy provides the organic milk Wal-Mart, Costco, Wild Oats, Trader Joe’s and Safeway sell under their own brand names. The dairy agreed to make major changes in the way it operates a Colorado facility and, reports Environmental News Service, stop posting the organic label to some of its milk after the U.S Department of Agriculture threatened to revoke its organic certification for not allowing its cows enough time at pasture. To continue operating as a certified organic dairy, Aurora must provide daily access to pasture during the growing season.

The USDA action was initiated in 2005 when the Wisconsin-based Cornucopia Institute, an advocate for family farms, claimed that Aurora Organic violated federal standards that require access to pasture for organic dairy cows at its Platteville, Colorado facility.  In the course of its investigation, the USDA also determined that animals were not being properly transitioned from traditional to organic practices, among other infractions.

Under the agreement it reached with the government, Aurora will not renew the organic certification for its Woodward, Colorado facility as it works to improve operations at Platteville. But for consumers, a bigger issue looms.

Demand for organic milk has never been higher. At the same time, consumer confidence in organic manufacturers is not rock solid, given scandals like these and the general belief many consumers have that “green” and organic products are not worth the extra money they cost.

When companies like Aurora intentionally undercut the standards they’re supposed to represent, they do a disservice to every other company trying to live up to that standard. They also send a message to shoppers that they can’t trust the marketplace – even though the marketplace is where shoppers can make the greatest difference in protecting the environment.

We expect more from organic companies like Aurora. We should get it. Until we do, thumbs down.

If you want to let Aurora Dairy know they need to earn back your trust, send a letter or make a call to Mark Retzloff, president and “chief organic officer.”

Mark Retzloff
Aurora Organic Dairy
1401 Walnut Street, Fifth Floor,
Boulder, CO 80302
720-564-6296

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