Green Marketing Recession-Proof, Report Says

A new report from Datamonitor further supports the conclusion that "green marketing" is holding up suprisingly strong in this recession. Claiming that green is recession proof is a bit of hyperbole, but the numbers from the report are impressive: Datamonitor shows 458 launches so far in 2009 of package-goods products that claim to be sustainable, environmentally friendly or "eco-friendly." That pace would mean that 2009 would triple the number of green launches from 08, which was more than double the number in 2007.

 

One of NaturalPath Media's marketing clients, Seventh Generation, reports that company's sales were up 50% last year and 20% in March year over year despite Clorox, Church & Dwight and now SC Johnson entering the natural cleaning space

Consumers are still buying sustainable lines despite their higher cost. Nielsen Co. data show sales growth of organic food at 5.6% year over year in December from a year ago. Though growth slowed in the fourth quarter, it was still more than 7% in December, far healthier than the rates at even top-performing grocery retailers such as Walmart or Costco. "It looks like this green trend is going to survive the recession," says Tom Vierhile, gm at Datamonitor's Product Launch Analytics.

Additionally, Information Resources Inc. research finds sales of green products growing fastest in a predominantly Hispanic segment labeled "respectful stewards" and a predominantly white-male segment labeled "proud traditionalists." 

See Full Article Here in Advertising Age