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Small Firms Are Downplaying Their Green Side

Environmental Messages Have Lost Appeal—So, Businesses Focus on Other Strengths

Small businesses are playing down their green message.

A decade ago, entrepreneurs rushed to take advantage of consumer demand for environmentally friendly products—but now the national mood is shifting. Shoppers not only aren't as interested in green products as they used to be, the eco-friendly tag can stir up negative feelings for many, according to consumer surveys and industry experts.

Gunilla Eisenberg avoids green messages when selling her products
Gunilla Eisenberg avoids green messages when selling her products Timothi Jane Graham

So, many small companies have stopped promoting green efforts. Instead of touting how their sustainable ingredients and production methods help the environment, they're focusing on the value their products deliver—things like performance, convenience or health benefits.

"We've never used the term 'eco' or 'green' in our marketing—people are saturated with those terms," says Jeff Denby, co-founder and chief creative officer of PACT, a line of sustainable socks and underwear. "The word 'eco' no longer elicits a very positive response."

Fading Appeal

Shoppers started souring on green products a few years ago, industry experts say. "There was a psychological backlash against green that coincided with the economic downturn," says Annie Longsworth, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi S, the sustainability-focused arm of global branding agency Saatchi & Saatchi. "Now people go to the shelf and even if the eco option is the same price, it inspires a sense of guilt, so it's easier to buy the one they're used to instead."

In a 2011 poll conducted by OgilvyEarth, the eco arm of advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather, nearly half of Americans claimed to feel guiltier "the more they know" about how to live a sustainable lifestyle, and sometimes green marketing would make them want to retreat to the comfort of ignorance. By 2013, a poll conducted by GlobalScan Radar found consumer concern about environmental issues had slumped to a 20-year low.

Of course, big companies with green product lines have to contend with this shift too. But large companies often have multiple brands and a huge marketing budget that makes it easy to quickly pivot away from an eco focus. Small businesses often don't have the resources to make sudden overhauls, or alternative products to fall back on.

For some, the answer is to stay green but to present their products to the public as high-quality rather than eco-friendly. Method, a cleaning-products company with annual sales over $100 million, states its environmental commitment on its website, blog and outreach efforts to the media. But its consumer marketing focuses on design and efficacy.

Gunilla Eisenberg, founder of Gunilla Skin Alchemy, spent several months sourcing eco-friendly oils for her high-end beauty products and finding a socially responsible manufacturer. But she opted to focus her messaging on the efficacy and quality of the product. In her home country of Denmark, "sustainability is expected—every product is made with quality ingredients and expected to last a lifetime. It's just how things are made, so we don't really have any hang-ups about it," she says. "But in the U.S., there's a lot of morality and judgment tied up in it, and those are two things I didn't want anywhere near a high-end skin-care brand."

So, she has the sourcing and manufacturing information on her website, and each bottle notes the oil is "wild crafted," or made from plants collected in the wild. But, she says, "I'm not pushing it as an eco product because at the end of the day, I have to be able to charge a premium for my product in order to keep the level of quality I have—in order to be truly eco—and it's easier to do that with a luxury-branded product than an eco-branded product."

Look for Stories

Some pros think there's a compromise approach to green marketing. Ms. Longsworth says companies could advertise their green approach by focusing on their story of commitment to social and environmental responsibility. "Consumers relate to good narratives in a way that they just don't to anything that seems like preaching," Ms. Longsworth says. For instance, instead of talking about the solar panels on your roof or how you recycle, focus on "where specifically your ingredients come from, for example, or how your manufacturing process reduces waste."

She also recommends getting consumers to interact with your brand in some way that helps them feel good about buying your product. "I also think companies need to use a little more humor with this subject in general," Ms. Longsworth says. "If brands don't take so seriously how they're saving the world, it goes a long way toward making people not feel guilty."

Ms. Westervelt is a writer in Truckee, Calif. She can be reached at

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