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Sustainability No ‘Magic Bullet’ For Retail

According to a recent PULSE report, Riding the Green Wave (pdf) from WSL Strategic Retail, retailers shouldn’t look at sustainability as the magic bullet that will transform their image. “Sadly for Home Depot and Wal-Mart, only 18 percent said that they try to shop at stores that care more for the environment,” the report states (via Environmental Leader).

In addition, 76 percent of consumers say they’re trying to do things like buying CFL light bulbs or lowering the thermostat to conserve energy in their homes. Almost all of those who aren’t conserving energy wish they were, and hardly anyone thinks there’s no need for energy conservation.

The greenest Americans are the oldest Americans. Fully 85 percent of those over 55 try to conserve energy at home compared to only 65 percent of those under 35. Those under 35 do more “wish I was doing something, but I’m not.” Traditionally, most trends begin among younger people, but this one is different.

Income group doesn’t have a lot to do with how green a consumer is - the number of people who are trying to conserve energy is the same among each income group, so it seems that the need to save money isn’t the only motivation for going green.