Buying ECO friendly?

Question

A lot of people argue that buying organic, ECO friendly products coasts more. And there for they don't want to spend the little extra, even though it is a better quality.

Do you think the more people buy ECO friendly, the more it becomes main stram, and thus the price will go down. Or will it stay the same ?

Answer 1

Hi There,

Organic and Eco friendly products don't always cost more, understanding what lies behind the terms 'Organic' and 'Eco friendly' is often the key issue and being prepared to become a greener shopper by degrees.

First principals to follow are not about the labelling at all,

1. Avoid over packaged goods and buy loose goods wherever possible, this way you cut down the carbon emissions and waste related to the goods you've purchased and made them more eco-friendly.

2. Try to buy goods grown or manufactured as locally as possible. For example buying organic asparagus from Peru will probably devalue the "organic" status of the product simply due to the air miles and pollution involved in getting it onto your plate if you live Manchester.  Many local authorities support local farmers markets etc so you can get good produce locally, plus look to see where your food and other goods come from.

3.  Join Freecycle, look in the charity shops and news papers for second hand goods, you are saving them from landfill at little or no cost to you and great gain to the environment.  

4. Join an allotment association and grow your own, that way you can guarantee that at least a portion of what you eat  is organic,  plus you can use the allotment to help you compost your kitchen waste and grow some wildflowers to help support your local nature.

These principals are called the “New or Green three R’s” and are basically about thinking about reducing waste, and increasing recycling and re-use from the point we go out to shop.

Next regarding whether costs will go down, the answer is yes. We as consumers have the power to say no to environmental damage and to lobby our shops and governments to do better. If the market demand for green goods increases then people will need to produce these at competitive prices if we reject non green goods then the producers will either have to change their practices or go out of business.

Already many “Fair Trade”, "FSC Certified Wooden" items environmentally friendly cleaning products and products made from recycled materials cost only as much as or sometimes less than their less green equivalents. Its definetly worth getting to understand the many different eco labels and doing some price comparison.

At 40 years old I've had time to see this welcome change begin to happen and the likes of you and me and everyone else out there actively encouraging it may mean the world we live on has a future.

Happy Eco Shopping,

Ruth  ;0)

Answer 2

As today's Eco friendly products become more the norm prices will come down due to economies of scale. Sorry to say, it takes the early adapters like us, who can see the hidden costs of not purchasing Eco products.  

I see the tide changing, companies are seeing the value to there bottom line in becoming environmentally aware.

Answer 3

ECO friendly items I believe are too difficult to mass produce, so the price will never come down enough.  There is always a hidden downside to ECO friendly goods that people don't always see or want to see.  I am willing to bet that recycling items use up many other resources (water, electricity, natural gas, etc...) so in the long run, are we really saving anything?  I wish people would think about that once in a while.

Answer 4

yes, and it is happening already. for the first time last week free range eggs outsold battery in Britain.

i bought some fair trade sugar today it was only 5 pence more than the regular. i know thats not specifically 'eco' but if small farmers can get a living wage they will be able to look after the land better, and certainly better than the big plantation owners.

Answer 5

In a recent study on the health benefits of organic foods rats chose organic grain bread much more often than the usual store junk when given the choice.    Some organic  foods takes more effort to grow and cannot be done on a factory like scale as the foods we now get are.   Many will remain more expensive for the foreseeable future, but that cost can be recovered in lower health-care costs.