In addition to its legal hassles, Whole Foods has been hit with
declining profits
recently as shoppers hesitate to shell out more green for greener fare. It's no surprise, then, to see Todd Wasserman report that sustainability is sustainable "only if consumers
don't have to pay extra for it."
Nielsen data show that sales of organic items began declining in June. And after years of double-digit expansion, Tom Pirovano, director of
industry insights for Nielsen, predicts growth for organic will be in the single digits in 2009. Marcia Mogelonsky, senior research analyst with Mintel, concurs: "I think the green market will
slow because it's too expensive."
Barbara Haumann, a senior writer and editor with the Organic Trade Association, says that the price difference between organic and
non-organic products has narrowed over the past year. And the heavyweights that have gotten into the game -- Procter & Gamble, Clorox and Church & Dwight -- are determined to keep prices low.
"Very few consumers are ever willing to pay extra or accept poorer performance for environmentally sustainable products," says Rotha Penn, a spokeswoman for Procter &
Gamble. "That's why our intent is to develop 'sustainable innovation products,' which are products that do not require consumers to make any tradeoffs."
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