Consumers Won’t Pay Green for a Green Clean

Two years ago, big cleaning product companies like Clorox (greenWorks) and Arm&Hammer (Arm&Hammer Essentials) introduced new ecologically-sound lines to their repertoire, on the heels of high sales by niche market competitors like Seventh Generation and Ecover. But although sales soared initially, the companies have taken a hit in the past year. A number of them are reducing their green product lines or dropping them altogether. Are consumers more concerned with their pocket books than with the planet? Or was “greenwashing” just a fad? Louise Story, Wall Street and finance reporter for The New York Times, says that despite the bad overall numbers, niche market companies are still growing.