Willing to give more green for green?

By Beth Daley, Globe Staff

It's hard to avoid the onslaught of eco-friendly products these days. Maybe it was a joke, but I've even seen a reference for carbon neutral underwear.

Eco-friendly earrings (Globe photo)

Now, a new Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies survey show that marketers are clearly tapping into a money-maker: People want environmentally friendly products - and are willing to pay more for them even if their financial situation is poor.

The survey, conducted by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media and Yale showed that half of respondents said they would "definitely" or "probably" pay 15 percent more for eco-friendly clothes' detergent or for an automobile. Forty percent said they would spend 15 percent more on "green" computer printer paper and 39 percent would do the same for green wood furniture.

And Americans who said their current financial situation is "fair" or "poor" were just as willing to spend 15 percent more on environmentally friendly detergent or furniture as those Americans with a better financial picture.

Some 75 percent of respondents said environmental groups are "very" or "somewhat" trustworthy when it comes to sponsoring eco-labels, only 55 percent said government agencies were trustworthy and 51 percent said industry groups were.

So will you pay more for green products? And how certain are you that the products you are buying really are green?