Green signals from the middle class

Conventional wisdom has it that the Indian middle class values price over almost any other attribute in its purchasing decisions and is relatively indifferent to environmental concerns. Ergo: the market for green brands and products is too small to consider. A recent global survey suggests that consumer goods marketers who continue to think this way are missing a big opportunity for growth.

This is the broad message from the latest edition of an eight-country, 9,009-respondent survey conducted by US research firm Penn, Schoen Berland in collaboration with design company Landor and environmental consultancy Esty Environmental Partners. Called the ImagePower Green Brands Survey, it shows that the signals from consumers in India are increasingly turning green.

Indian consumers are not only willing to spend more on green products and services, they don't consider premium pricing a major deterrent in their purchasing decisions. Instead, they want green products to be more easily available and clearly labelled.