Retailers hoping for a ‘green’ Christmas

Steve Furr has a holiday shopping strategy – buy less, and go green.\nThis year, the 21-year-old IU senior is giving friends natural, soy-based candles. He’s wrapping his gifts in recycled newspapers, instead of traditional paper. And he’s focusing on buying “experience” gifts – like tickets to IU Auditorium events – instead of consumer products.\nHe’s not alone. Around the state and across the country, a growing number of consumers are shopping for “green,” eco-friendly gifts and decorations this holiday season. Retailers are responding, offering new products, more selection and even customized catalogs to show off their green goods. \n“We’re seeing more retailers and more companies working to be more ‘green’ and telling people that they are ‘green,’” said Mike Becher, managing partner of accounting firm Deloitte & Touche’s Indianapolis office. “I think we’re starting to see people pay attention to that ‘green’ label and factoring that into their purchase decisions.”\nIn Deloitte’s annual holiday survey of retail trends, 15 percent of Indiana shoppers said they would purchase more eco-friendly products this year. Another 19 percent said they would consider not wrapping gifts to save paper.\nSimilarly, the Conscious Consumer Report, commissioned by marketing firm BBMG, recently found that nine in 10 Americans see themselves as “conscious consumers.” That means they are more likely to buy from companies that manufacture energy efficient products and commit to environmentally friendly practices.\nSensing the trend, local and national retailers are jumping into the “green” movement in force. Some are marketing “green” products in a new way, while others are increasing their product selection or reaching out to new customers.\nAt Natural Elements in downtown Bloomington, owner Robyn Thompson says she’s adding new products and attracting a new breed of shoppers to her store, which sells items such as fairly traded bamboo, hemp and organic cotton clothing, handmade paper journals and natural candles.\n“I’m starting to get people who have never been in here before,” she said, such as shoppers who might normally gravitate to retailers like Chico’s down the street. “They don’t look at my store anymore as the ‘hippie’ store over there.”\nA block away, at Wandering Turtle Art Gallery and Gifts, manager Mari Dagaz said sales are on the rise – a sign that consumers are becoming more aware of environmental issues, she said. Her store stocks an eclectic mix of reused and recycled products – think vintage 45 records converted into bowls and notebooks – plus fairly traded crafts and pottery, natural soaps and recycled metal works. \n“People really do like to offer gifts to their friends and family that are more unique,” she said. “When people shop here, they can give something that speaks about themselves.” \nNationally, luxury retailer Barney’s New York published a holiday catalog this season titled “Have a Green Holiday,” that’s filled with products such as organic cotton dresses, tote bags tanned without chemicals and, for variety, an environmentally friendly bamboo skateboard. \nEven traditional holiday decorations are going “green.” Local Wal-Mart store manager Scott Guffey said his store stocked its shelves with energy-efficient LED, or light-emitting diode, Christmas lights this season. Sales are so strong that he expects to sell out soon, even though his store’s inventory was “quite substantial,” he said.\nJenny Powers, a spokeswoman for the Natural Resources Defense Council, one of the country’s largest environmental groups, said all that variety is starting to hit home for consumers. \n“People are realizing that no matter what kind of person you are, whoever you’re shopping for, there’s gifts that fit into the ‘green’ gift realm,” she said. \nThe growing demand for eco-friendly products stems from increased awareness and concern for environmental issues and global warming, she said. Al Gore’s documentary on global warming, “An Inconvenient Truth,” helped to spur interest in the subject, as did natural events like Hurricane Katrina and rising temperatures, she said.\nThe environmental movement itself kicked off with the first Earth Day in 1970, said Lucille Bertuccio, the president of Bloomington’s Center for Sustainable Living. Over time, the movement received support from some presidents and politicians, she said, but opposition from others. It wasn’t until recently, when Bertuccio said Americans can see tangible effects of global warming, that the larger public began to take an interest in the subject.\nNow, that awareness is creating a new kind of “green,” eco-friendly shopper, Powers said. \n “It’s not just your granola-eating, Birkenstock-wearing person that’s looking for some organic product,” she said. “It’s the realization that being green is much broader than that, it includes all types of products.”\n“Green” products may be more expensive than others, Powers said, and there is no clear definition or certification for labeling “green” items. But she said even products that might not typically be seen as “green” – such as Energy Star products rated for high efficiency – make good holiday gifts. \n“It’s not sold or couched as a ‘green’ product,” she said, “but it is one the greenest things you can get because it’s reducing the energy use for the product.”\nYet some people say there’s an inherent conflict in buying products to help save the environment, when conservation should be the real goal.\nDebra Amador, one of the founders of the Web site BuyLessCrap.org, says consumers should be more mindful of what they purchase. She said that endless holiday gift-giving can lead to overkill, when consumers simply don’t know what to do with all their new products.\n “’Green’ is the new sexy tagline to many companies and green is a Christmas color. You can say, ‘have a green Christmas,’ but does that mean you’re shopping socially, you’re shopping consciously?” she said. “I think we could all consume a little less and it could make a big difference.” \nVickie Temple Davison, the owner of the Bloomington Hardware, considers herself a “green” shopper and applies Amador’s advice to her own life.\nInstead of doling out expensive gifts to all her friends and relatives, Temple Davison gives her time. In the past, she threw her parents a 60th wedding anniversary party instead of buying them traditional gifts. She also organizes holiday social gatherings and cooks with friends. When she does give a gift, she often gets old photos restored so her loved ones can savor past memories.\n“You have to learn how to think differently, and thinking differently isn’t always maxing out the credit card,” she said. “I do think people end up getting into this whole thing that you have to buy, you have to buy. But you don’t always have to go out and buy the new TV or the new video game. Instead why don’t you get the board game out or help grandma take care of grandma?”\nBertuccio, of the Center for Sustainable Living, said she stays “green” during the holidays by buying as little as possible. Instead of traditional gifts, she often shops for local crafts and food products and holds potluck dinners to give her friends and family a chance to come together.\n“I think for both our kids and our friends we have to give time,” she said.\nStill, for those who want to give a gift, experts say buying a “green” product can make an impact. \nTrish Riley, the author of the “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Green Living,” said buying “green” items could stimulate businesses to change their practices and offer more eco-friendly products. \n“If we could make decisions that are more environmentally friendly, we’re sending a message to the manufacturing community that that’s what we want,” she said.\nPowers, of the Natural Resources Defense Council, said that by buying “green,” consumers are also reducing energy consumption and helping to do their part to protect the environment. \n“Every little bit does count,” she said. “There’s big difference that can be made on a small scale.”