Shoppers Are Reluctant To Pay A Premium For Eco-Friendly Products

As the FTC gets ready to more closely monitor green claims by U.S. marketers, a GfK survey of 2,000 U.S. consumers finds that fewer are willing to pay premium prices for eco-friendly products, mainly because of hyped-up ad assertions. Though the majority of survey responders (93 percent) say they’ve changed their lifestyle to conserve energy, they are reluctant to buy expensive fuel-efficient automobiles, biodegradable plastic packaging, organic food, etc. In 2008, 62 percent of GfK's respondents said they would pay more for a car that pollutes less, but only 49 percent said so this year. The same goes for pricey organic foods: fifty-seven percent said they’d pay more for organic food in 2008, but only 51 percent this year.