• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, September 9, 2008

While conventional marketing wisdom holds that it's the idealistic Gen Y shoppers who are most committed to buying products that are less harmful to the environment, a new study finds that baby boomers are the greenest generation.

Both male and female groups 55 years and older are above-average users of environmentally friendly home goods in the U.S., according to the new study from ICOM Information & Communications, a Toronto-based target marketing company.

Women in this demographic were more than twice as likely as the average consumer to use green products, while men in the 65-to-69 segment came in second--more than 1.7 times as likely to buy and use such products as the average American.

Conversely, men and women from 25 to 34 years are among the "least likely to buy" category, compared to the national average.

The study, which is based on responses from just over 6,000 respondents, also found that while the soft economy and higher prices of green goods are deterring many, more than 6 out of 10--61.9%--say they are still buying and using such products. The leading reason for their purchases: about 33% of all the green shoppers say such purchases "make me feel good about myself."

Of those who don't buy green, 50% say it's because these products are too expensive, while 17%--giving the next most common reason--say "I do not believe that they are that much better for the environment."

One reason that older shoppers may be more committed, says Peter Meyers, ICOM's marketing vice president, "is that they are spending more time in the store, looking at packaging and reading product claims. They know what they're buying."

Another possible explanation, he says, is that Gen Y is simply becoming more cynical, and is more likely not to believe a marketer's claims.

For marketers to continue to be successful with earth-friendly claims, he says, especially with the economic slowdown, "they're going to have to start considering price as a key issue, as well as finding ways to back up claims more clearly, to build trust."