Green as a Status Symbol: Why Increased Prices May Increase Sales


A commonly heard, and personally experienced, critique of the sustainability movement is the relatively high cost of green products compared to traditional products. I can spend .99 cents on a bottle of shampoo that cleans my hair but has 25 ingredients listed on the back, most of which I have trouble pronouncing let alone knowing what they actually are or what effects they will have on my health. Or, I can purchase a bottle of green shampoo made from significantly fewer and easier to identify ingredients, but it will cost me ten times as much. The significantly higher price of green products inhibits my, and other consumers, ability to purchase them, but more importantly it creates a divide between consumers that are able to purchase green goods and those that are not.


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