Are you Green Shopping during the Holiday Season?

With the holiday season officially starting in about one month from now with Thanksgiving, it is not only a time to be thankful and to hang out with family and friends, but it can also be a time to think about how you can be environmentally conscious and go green with the products you purchase.  Consequently, the question is one of:  Are you willing to go green with your shopping decisions this coming holiday season?  Often when individuals shop, going green may not be something that is at the top of their list.  Getting that special gift for that special individual is probably what most people think of during the holiday season.  According to A Deloitte Survey, they found "17 percent are willing to pay more for 'green' gifts or supplies, which tells us that this issue is on shoppers' minds this year and is becoming more central to consumers' purchasing decisions." However, this study was done back in 2007 and may not be as accurate today, but nevertheless is relevant to the question of whether individuals are willing to buy green products during the Holiday Season.

Often, it comes down to the difference between saying that one is going to buy green products and that it is at the front of their mind and actually doing it.  The Deloitte study's weakness is that it does not track customers to find out if their professed desire to shop green becomes a reality during the holiday season.  In essence, the old cliche of saying one thing and doing another always comes to mind when answering a survey about whether one is to buy green products during this holiday season.  At least with the Deloitte survey of 2007, it appears that consumers thought of buying green products back then.  Hopefully, that trend continues during this holiday season.

Shopping green has many benefits to the environment and even if it causes one to pay more than buying non-green products, isn't it worth it to do your part to ensure not only your generation, but future ones have access to a clean environment?  In essence, buying green is about helping both your generation and future ones to live a cleaner and healthier life without having to worry about various pollutants contaminating the air you breathe.  The holiday season can certainly be about gathering with family and friends for a good time, but it can also be about sharing with them how their actions can certainly benefit everyone around them.  Going green, therefore, really starts at the individual level and that can start by buying green during this special holiday season.

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