Women are more likely to buy eco-friendly products

The latest from NPD is its "Green 2008: Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors" study. The market research company says that more than half of consumers surveyed consider themselves extremely or very interested in environmentally-friendly products. The kicker -- women are more interested than men, by 57 percent to 47 percent. And NPD says that women are the ones who are doing the shopping, and who don't mind higher prices as much. According to Mark Delaney, director of NPD Group’s Home division:

In either scenario, manufacturers and retailers need to drive marketing and education efforts that will help the less-involved consumer understand the benefits of ‘green’ and what makes a product ‘green’.

Another key finding: green shoppers want energy-efficient items that save money. So make sure you market to women shoppers, and let them know which products are most cost-effective.

In a struggling economy, those products marketed as being environmentally-friendly and saving consumers money will be the products that stand the best chance of growth in the long run.

There's a lot more info in the press release (link to study, above), so check it out.