It's not easy being green

By MARK PRIGG
Updated: 10:38 EST, 12 February 2007

Green consumers are increasingly being given misleading and confusing information, government experts warned today.

A project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council is calling for a major overhaul of the burgeoning green industry.

It comes after the Government launched an inquiry into the plethora of carbon trading schemes offering to offset consumer's carbon emissions.

The new University of Leeds study said practical help and incentives for green consumers are needed.

Dr William Young, who led the research, said: 'We need to avoid consumers being ripped off by all the new green schemes and products out there. Schemes such as organic and fair trade labelling are licensed but a lot of others simply aren't. Consumers really need to keep their eyes open.'

Dr Young called for better regulation of products branding themselves as green and for clearer labelling to be brought in for everything from food to fridges to explain exactly what their green credentials are.

'People now want to know where their fridge was made, or how many air miles their food has travelled,' he said. 'People find that being green or ethical is a very hard, time-consuming and emotional experience.'

Dr Young and his colleagues interviewed green consumers about their recent purchases and discovered three types - selectors, translators and exceptors.

Selectors are the largest group. These consumers are only green in one aspect of their lives. A selector may be an avid recycler or pay a premium for green energy but sees no contradiction in leading a life of otherwise high consumption.

Translators are green in some aspects of their lives.

Dr Young said: 'They are prepared to make a certain amount of sacrifice in order to do what they perceive is the 'right thing' but they do not actively seek out the information that they need to work out what the right thing is.'

Exceptors are the greenest of all. Dr Young said: 'Their personal philosophy about consumption makes sustainability a priority in every aspect of their lives.'

Exceptors research products they purchase and will often buy on purely ethical grounds. 'Their heart wants to go one way but their head goes another,' said Dr Young.

>> Eco-friendly schemes rated and compared

We need to change our lifestyles, not our gadgets
Commentary from Andrew Neather

Never mind wind turbines and hybrid cars.

From solar-powered iPod chargers to recycled gift cards, the explosion in greener living has created almost limitless choice. Boasting green credentials has become one of the surest ways to sell. Yet almost all of the terms used - 'green', 'environmentally friendly', 'eco' - have no legal weight whatsoever.

In other words, they're virtually meaningless.

Last month, Tesco pledged to show the carbon footprints of all its products - although how it will do that for a box of cornflakes is anyone's guess. The difficulty for

Tesco or any other retailer is that even when environmental information is clearly shown, it is not the whole story. For example, all white goods such as fridges and dishwashers already carry labels giving their energy efficiency rating, from A+ (best) through to G (most wasteful).

But that does not include their manufacture or disposal so a lower-rated fridge made in Europe might be more efficiently manufactured and shipped fewer miles than a more efficient one made in the Far East - and so be responsible for fewer carbon emissions over its lifetime.

In the same way, one US study last year claimed that, when manufacture and disposal are taken into account, a Jeep Wrangler emits less carbon over the whole of its life than a painfully eco-trendy Toyota Prius.

The report was deeply flawed but it drew attention to the high levels of 'embodied energy' in many greener products. But there's a more fundamental problem here. Many 'green' products are attempts at a technological fix that does not deal with the behaviour causing the environmental problem in the first place.

We have faith in technology to fix something we see as a scientific problem.

This is what makes notvery-efficient gadgets such as domestic wind turbines so alluring, when the hard truth is that going green has to start with reducing your consumption.

I have cut my household electricity consumption by around a quarter over the past three months just by turning off lights, installing low-energy bulbs and using things like the tumble dryer less. But that's not as exciting as a solar panel on the roof or a G-Wiz in the drive, is it?