GREEN GOES EVEN MORE MAINSTREAM

A recent article in retailwire.com talked about the green trend - a trend that continues to go mainstream and is backed by data to bolster the claim.

"According to a study by Mintel, the number of green products rolled out in 2007 was more than double the launches of similar items in 2005. Mintel is looking for 2008 to produce roughly 1,000 additional green items over last year's total of 5,933.

Mintel found that 36 percent of adults claim to regularly buy green products, triple the number from 16 months ago. At the same time, the numbers of Americans who never buy green products went from 20 percent to 10 percent.

"We're seeing the green movement rapidly transition from niche to mainstream," said Colleen Ryan, senior analyst at Mintel, in a company press release. "Major companies have jumped onboard, promotional messages have changed, and the American public is increasingly looking at green products as a normal part of everyday life."

Ms. Ryan said younger consumers are pushing the green numbers higher. Fifty-one percent of 18- to 24-year-olds report "regularly" purchasing green products. As a point of comparison, only about one-third of older adults said the same was true for them."

THE REAL WORLD RETAILING TAKEAWAY
Green is here, green is good.

I continue to read research that bolsters the green cause and says Americans are taking note and more importantly, taking action.

A critical mass of greenness has coalesced and you will be left behind if you don't go green.  Although there is so much misperception in the marketplace about terminology such as "green," "sustainable," "carbon footprint," etc., it's only a matter of time before all of this gets sorted out.

Get going.  Create a green product section in your store.  Create a greener store environment and then post a simple sign that states what you're doing to go green.  Promote your greenness in an email newsletter to your customers.  You need to take action, then promote the action you've taken. 

There are so many ways you can go green.  But you need to get going or risk getting left behind.