Does green technology actually fail the 'cool' test
Restructuring Today, January 15, 2008
 
Just because consumers are worried about global warming doesn't mean they'll shell out a few extra bucks to get environmentally friendly products, an EcoAlign survey found.

 

Consumers in the EcoPinion Survey said many forms of green technology are cost-prohibitive, difficult to understand and aesthetically unappealing.

 

Some 46% of consumers have adopted green technology and are more positive about its merits.  Those that haven't bought any cited lots of problems.

 

The percentage of green technology adoption is significantly higher among consumers who are over 55, make over $50,000/year and are college educated.

 

Almost half of consumers asked believed that green technologies were reliable.  That number jumped to 60% among adopters, garnering the highest rating on the attributes pollsters asked about.

 

But majorities on both sides found green tech to be expensive, hard to understand, ugly and hard to use.

 

Most of those surveyed said they would not get worked up if their neighbors installed a small wind turbine, solar panels or other green techs on their homes.

 

A small wind turbine brought the most negative responses but even so, 63% of respondents said they wouldn't mind their neighbor installing one.

 

Firms working in the green space should make more emotional appeals to customers as to why they should adopt such technologies rather than simply focusing on the engineering, EcoAlign urged.

 

Green technology needs to become more aesthetic, too, since customers aren't only focusing on the environment.