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How Green Is My Voter?

Bob Vosburgh March 3rd, 2008

On the eve of the critical Democratic primaries in Ohio and Texas, we thought it might be time to start talking about the candidates and their (still evolving) positions on the environment and sustainability.

Nobody knows just how large the “green” voting bloc is, but with the candidates’ leads “shakier than cafeteria Jell-O” (one of the many food-related “Ratherisms” uttered during past election nights by network anchorman Dan Rather), there’s a general feeling that the environmentally sensitive voters are a group to be courted.

So, where does one research the greeness of the American electorate? Catalina Marketing, the targeted coupon company, went to that town square of consumption, the supermarket. First, the firm identified a green shopper as someone who made purchases from a list of products promoted as eco-friendly between April 2006 and April 2007. They used that information to answer the question: “Do green shoppers translate to green voters?”

The research did yield a few surprising results. For instance, the Democratic state of California — often seen as a healthy place to live — indexed at the average for the number of green shoppers. California’s neighbors, Oregon and Washington, both ranked well above the average.

Of the Republican states, Colorado and Alaska both ranked above average in their tendency to have green shoppers, with Alaska beating out even blue states Oregon and Washington. The top five green states most likely to have green shoppers in order are: Alaska (red), Washington (blue), Oregon (blue), Colorado (red) and Vermont (blue). The states least likely to have green shoppers, in order, are: Oklahoma (red), Alabama (red), Minnesota (blue), North Dakota (red) and Wisconsin (blue).

Catalina also crunched some numbers and found that green product sales have doubled since 2005, with an 82% increase in 2007 alone. Boy, would Hillary or Barack love to have that number posted on their returns.

2 Comments to “How Green Is My Voter?”

F. Chang Says:

March 3rd, 2008 at 7:35 pm

I think the results raise some interesting points, but I’m not convinced they’re accurately defining “green” consumers. For example, a person who deeply embraces Organic food products because of their sustainable farming methods wouldn’t be included in this group of supposedly “green” consumers.

I suspect that some of the “truly green” consumers are left out because they don’t buy Green products from large retailers that Catalina markets to. Or, they don’t buy products that market themselves as “green” because they see through the packaging/marketing and see it exactly as that — marketing.
Bob Vosburgh Says:

March 7th, 2008 at 9:59 am

The points you make all speak to the amazing diversity that’s found in the wellness movement. Anyone studying this class of consumers is finding a rich field of ethnicity, economics, age and ethics. I think it’s more difficult to isolate and identify subgroups in wellness than other consumer groups. As you mention, there is so much crossover.