What's your stereotype of the "super green" consumer? Scarborough Research recently prepared a report, "All About the Super Greenies," that attempts to categorize them.
Scarborough defines a "super green" consumer as someone who does at least 10 of these 14 "eco-friendly" activities regularly:
- Buy eco-friendly household cleaning supplies
- Buy locally grown food
- Buy organic food
- Donate money or time to environmental causes
- Drive less/use alternative transportation
- Pay more for eco-friendly products and services
- Plan to buy a hybrid vehicle
- Recycle electronics
- Recycle glass, plastic or paper
- Support politicians based on environmental policies
- Use cloth or other reusable grocery bags
- Use energy efficient light bulbs
- Use less water at home
- Use rechargeable batteries
I imagine quite a few Plastics Blog readers qualify, using that criteria.
According to
Scarborough's research (PDF), "super greens" are "high-income, high-spending consumers who purchase luxury items and lead active lifestyles. Further, they are using the Internet for local information - from basic information on the weather to seeking out local businesses."
According to the report, they're more likely than typical consumers to contribute to political campaigns, to ride a bike, and to buy expensive jewelry.
The top markets for "super greens" are San Francisco, Seattle, Portland and San Diego, where they make up 17, 13, 11 and 11 percent of the local markets, respectively. (Did you think the percentages in those cities would be higher? I did).
The national average for any given market is 5 percent, and the cities with the lowest percentage of "super greens" are Rochester, NY;, Phoenix, Indianapolis, Knoxville, Louisville, San Antonio, Chattanooga, Miami, Nashville and Houston, all with 3 percent.
