That’s how it seems sometimes. If I want to exercise my right as a purchaser and buy the green/ethical/morally upright option, I have to pay extra. Someone somewhere is taxing me for my beliefs.
Maybe I’m being too sensitive about this. After all, if I go into my local supermarket, I’m presented with normal coffee or fair trade coffee. I accept that fair trade coffee will be more expensive, but I don’t mind buying it because (a) I can afford the extra few pennies and (b) a decent price is paid to the farmer. In short, it makes me feel good. I like to think that Western consumers like me are doing our bit to divert wealth from multinational companies to small producers.
But where I struggle is with the idea of environmentally friendly products (as opposed to just ‘fair trade’ products) being more expensive. This struck me when I considered (briefly) the benefits of paying more for a green tariff for my home electricity. To my shame, I opted for the cheaper tariff and promised to turn off more lights and not leave the tap running.
But why should green always be more expensive?
A little web research confirms the wider existence of the green tax. Eco-marketers Shelton Associates published some useful facts on their blog to prove my point:
The top product category in which consumers are searching for greener products (according to our [Shelton's] Eco Pulse study) is home cleaning products. And green cleaning products carry a price premium of 11-30%, depending on the brand. The price premium for organic foods and beverages (the number two category on consumers’ lists) is 23-118%, and the price premium for a hybrid car (the number one category in our Green Living Pulse study) is 18-43%.
But, happily, this is not always the case, and the key lies in changing behaviour, not just changing products. For example, cycling is cheaper than driving, whatever kind of fuel you were planning to use. Turning the thermostat down will save on electricity – renewable or otherwise. And, if you plan your food shopping properly and avoid letting food go out of date, you will spend less money there too. It’s about your choice of behaviour, not your choice of product.
Which is why, here at Powwownow, we are delighted to see so many businesses changing their behaviour – ie by using conference calls instead of driving or flying to meetings. Despite the disingenuous claims of low-cost airlines that they are driving down the cost of business, this is one example where the green option really is less expensive. The cost of a flight to Munich may be pretty low, but the green option – through us at least – will always be less.
Because it’s free.
Image credit: photos8.com
