A new survey published by Consumer Reports to coincide with the launch of GreenerChoices.org gives a new face to what it means to be green in America. While only 5 percent of respondents consider themselves activists, nearly nine out of 10 actively consider environmental and health factors when making purchases. Consumers are making environmentally friendly choices through their purchasing decisions. They are actively seeking out organic foods, avoiding dangerous chemicals in products, and looking for energy-efficient appliances. GreenerChoices.org will offer consumers practical advice on how to be more environmentally conscious.

The survey also reveals that consumers are willing to pay more now for choices that protect the environment, public and personal health, and their pocketbooks later. The nationally representative survey of more than 1,200 online, U.S. adults was conducted in March 2005.

"It's very clear that while consumers do not want to be labeled green, they are searching for green labels," says Dr. Urvashi Rangan, an environmental health scientist and director of GreenerChoices.org as well as Eco-labels.org, another Consumer Reports site.

"Forty-three percent of respondents said they would be willing to pay more for electricity generated from environmentally sound sources like solar and wind power and nearly seven out of 10 would be willing to pay an additional cost to recycle big-ticket items like TVs and computers. What this says to us is that not only do consumers care, but they're willing to put their money where their mouth is," added Rangan.

The site will explain how making environmental choices often has other important benefits too. These benefits include protecting personal health and saving money - key reasons why survey respondents buy green.

Greenerchoices.org will also help clear up public confusion about whether or not green products actually perform as well as their mainstream counterparts.

The site launch will begin with a dozen products across several categories, including electronics, appliances, home & garden, autos, and food. Consumers can easily find out how to incorporate environmental and health issues into their product purchases, uses, recycling and disposal. There will be an additional "green ratings" section, starting with eight products, which will provide rankings that include a product's energy, water, and fuel efficiency performance.

Broader-scale environmental issues concerning energy, climate change, agriculture, waste, and dangerous chemical substances will also be discussed while making the connections to the products people buy. Consumers will also find tools such as energy calculators, rebate information, food label meanings as well as links to help consumers find out more about their local energy, water, and sewage treatment services.

In addition to being a stand-alone site, specific sections of GreenerChoices.org will be linked off the applicable product pages on ConsumerReports.org.

"GreenerChoices.org combines the independence and expertise of Consumer Reports ad-free test ratings and recommendations with the strong public interest and education component of our mission," said Joel Gurin, executive vice president of Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports magazine. "We're very excited that the site launches at a time when more than three-quarters of consumers are searching for green information on the Internet, and we're looking forward to tracking the marketplace changes we expect to see as a result of making this site easily available to consumers."

Publication date: 04/25/2005