Friday, Nov. 28, 2008

GOING GREEN FOR CHRISTMAS

By Rita Cook

Contributing Writer

Forget about a white Christmas; this year it looks like many consumers are more interested a green holiday, instead.

Steve Wagner, senior product manager of Plow & Hearth, an eco-friendly company offering a variety of gifts, states that "half of Americans plan to buy a green gift this season." And "among those going green this year, two-thirds say they are willing to spend between 10 and 25 percent more on holiday green gifts."

He said that his company recently conducted a survey showing that even during a period of financial uncertainty, Americans are going the extra mile to protect the environment.

On a more local note, Greg Foreman of Foreman’s in Colleyville said, "I think the majority of the people will go for green, if it is available. Most people want to be good. Right now there is just not enough product out there to give a consumer everything that is green; I wish there were."

For his store’s green Christmas gift options Foreman has electric and battery-powered lawn mowers, pet food, wild bird supplies, hardware and there is even a home brewery system.

He believes that the biggest green gifts he will be selling this year will include "virtually anything that is renewable, like the wooden houses made from recycled products and even glass ... we have what they call water bubbles, which are devices that you can stick in a plant and it keeps watering the plant. We have different kinds of mosquito repellants like candles that are natural and many new chemicals for gardening or for bugs [that] are all natural, and the products work."

Plow & Hearth offers green gifts year round, but Wagner notes that the gifts he expects to sell for the holidays this year include jute leaf bags, insulated curtains and window wreaths.

At the Learning Express in Southlake, Shawnette Hanna said that their shelves are stocked with many unique toys, including green ones. "Green products in general are becoming more popular and that includes the toy industry," Hanna said. "For a number of years we carried green toys and as a result of the growth in the industry we expanded the category in 2008. The green toys featured at Learning Express have been aggressively advertised and featured in our store through emails and in our printed publications since September of this year."

For Christmas, Hanna expects the top sellers to be the Fuel Cell Car Kit, Mother Nature Goes Nuts! Book, an Enviro Battery Kit, a Wind Power Kit, Storybook Animals made of organic cotton and natural dyes, cookware and kitchen wares made from recycled materials and even wooden blocks made of rubber wood, to name a few.

"It’s difficult to determine a percentage of customers interested in the "green" trend," she said. "Interestingly enough, the green trend has not caught on as quickly here in Texas as Learning Express has seen in other parts of the country, such as the Northeast, but like other phenomena, the trend has begun to catch on here too."

And, if you’re not sure what green really means, Wagner explains: "Typically, gifts made from recyclable or renewable resources are considered 'green,’ as well as products that help save energy or electricity."

Hanna notes that the "green" products at Learning Express include toys made of forest-friendly wood, recycled or recyclable materials, toys that explain solar power or alternative energy or have a general environmental theme.

Wagner added, "Small changes in our habits can greatly affect the environment and our customers demonstrate a willingness and a desire to protect it. People are becoming more aware of their impact on the Earth, and are increasingly making choices to protect it."