The ’90s gave us Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, a veritable tribute to conspicuous consumption. The ‘00s have served up Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability [LOHAS], a celebration of conscious consumption developed by the Natural Marketing Institute (NMI). Concern for the environment hit a critical juncture in public acceptance in 2007 when former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, the epitome of an establishment player, received a Nobel Prize for his video treatise on global warning. It’s fair to say that the environment is officially “in play.”

Once the province of an elite few, sustainability-conscious consumers now number some 35 million people, or 16% of the adult American population, according to NMI’s annual LOHAS Consumer Trends Database™. But get ready—43% of consumers anticipate a greener future within the next five years. Not only are shoppers thinking green, they’re willing to spend more green to achieve environmental goals—up to a 20% price premium for cleaner, greener products.

Taking action
Consumers are walking the walk [saving energy in the process] and talking the talk with respect to the environment. Results of a Nielsen Global Food Packaging Survey revealed that nearly one in two consumers worldwide would give up all forms of packaging provided for convenience purposes if it would benefit the environment, including: packaging designed for easy stacking/storing at home (49%); packaging that can be used for cooking, or doubling as a re-sealable container (48%); and packaging designed for easy transport.

Vast differences between East and West regions, however, are reported when it comes to attitudes towards packaging. Generally, Europeans and North Americans are in agreement on the kinds of packaging they would forego to help the environment — 60% of Europeans and North Americans would give up packaging designed for stacking and storing at home — compared with only 42% of Asians. Asian homes tend to be smaller and have limited storage space, so “stack and store” options are more practical and preferable. Asian shoppers also place less priority on packaging that preserves food because they shop frequently and don’t tend to buy products with a long shelf life.

According to a U.S. Nielsen PanelViews study, more than half of U.S. consumers claim to recycle cans, bottles and/or newspapers all the time, with nearly 20% doing so “most of the time.” Roughly 40% will sometimes think to look for products with less packaging. In one of the more popular energy-saving approaches, almost 80% make a point of combining shopping trips to save gas most if not all of the time.

Sixty percent of U.S. consumers will buy used or refurbished products to reduce waste and materials consumption at least some of the time. Virtually the same percentage make an effort to buy fruits and vegetables at a local farmers’ market. About two-thirds turn down their thermostats to conserve fuel most or all of the time.

Internet chatter is a timely leading indicator of popular concerns. By tracking blog mentions of keywords from March 2006–2007, Nielsen BuzzMetrics was able to measure a 110% increase in references to “sustainable” or “sustainability.” Another suggestion that sustainability has transitioned from the purview of activists to that of average consumers is the fact that sustainability blogs now rank among the top 50 blogs overall.

The most frequently mentioned discussion topics included environmental issues [23%], corporate initiatives [18%], government involvement [15%], economic activities [14%] and land development/building [13%]. A note of caution to corporations looking to cash-in on the green movement without true commitment – consumers are quick to catch on to so-called “greenwashing” and boycott companies that adopt the practice.

Green power
Marketers now have a new tool to help them understand consumers by their personal values, environmental commitment and lifestyle. LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability), a green segmentation architecture developed by the Natural Marketing Institute (NMI), classifies consumers based on attitudes toward health, conscious consumption, the environment, personal development, sustainable living and social issues – among other dimensions.

The five LOHAS segments include:

1. LOHAS [19%]—active environmental stewards dedicated to personal and planetary health. These are the heaviest purchasers of green/socially-responsible products.
2. NATURALITES [19%]—motivated primarily by personal health considerations. Tend to purchase more LOHAS consumable products vs. durable items.
3. DRIFTERS [25%]—while their intentions may be good, drifters follow trends when it’s easy and affordable. Price sensitivity dictates their actions.
4. CONVENTIONALS [19%]—pragmatists who embrace LOHAS-related behavior when they believe they can make a difference.
5. UNCONCERNED [17%]—either unaware or undaunted about the environment and societal issues.
   

Making it real
Nielsen and NMI have established a partnership to take things one step further to make the LOHAS concept even more actionable by quantifying the Nielsen U.S. Homescan Consumer Panel by the currency of the Green movement – the five NMI LOHAS consumer segments – to dive deeply into ongoing actual purchase behavior and indicators. Available in March 2008, marketers will be able to examine by LOHAS segment dollar and volume trends, brands purchased, formats shopped, purchase history on factors such as brand loyalty and switching behavior, promotional propensity and channel preference. Through the Nielsen Spectra link, LOHAS segments will be locatable on the ground by trade area, accounts and region. This data can be complemented with a multitude of consumer and trade insight from NMI’s LOHAS Consumer Trends Database™ — an annual research study of the $209 billion LOHAS market for enterprise-wide product, marketing and trade strategies.

By utilizing the LOHAS segmentation overlay, marketers and retailers can incorporate green and sustainability initiatives into go-to-market strategies, align corporate interests with those of consumers, customers and employees, bump up ROI, measure attitudes versus actual purchasing behavior, increase overall marketing effectiveness of ads and promotions through more precise targeting, and better position against competitive offerings on the basis of eco-friendly criteria. Environmental stewardship is its own reward, benefiting people, the planet and profits.