Green Gifts the Way to Go

Valentine’s Day probably can’t hold a candlelit dinner to Christmas’ buying draw, but nonetheless it’s a pretty big present holiday for Americans. (Just think about all of the pink and red that has overwhelmed stores since the New Year!)

According to the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) 2008 Valentine’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, the average consumer plans to spend $122.98 on Valentine’s Day, and total spending on Valentine’s Day is expected to reach $17.02 billion this year. (Total Christmas spending in 2007 was projected to reach $474.5 billion by comparison.)

While Valentine’s Day spend is up from last year’s $119.67 per-person average, it’s not up by much. In fact, one might say that sales will be relatively flat, which is probably why the NRF is spinning VD2008 as a “quality time” holiday for this year: “Consumers Opt for Quality Time with Loved Ones Over Traditional Gifts This Valentine’s Day,” reads the headline of the NRF’s latest press release.

In my opinion if retailers were to promote a green angle with their Valentine’s Day gifts, I think they’d see a spike in sales. Here’s why I think that.

I just completed a survey of gift choices and found that most people like gifts that are good for earth. In fact, the people that took my survey like any gift that benefits a good cause but especially if it supports a green cause.

Here are some more findings from that survey:

* On average folks buy between 21 and 35 gifts per year.

* When it comes to gifts that benefit a good cause, 81% of folks buy them, and more than half (55.8%) of these gift buyers choose a gift that benefits the environment.

* In fact, this past holiday season (Christmas, Chanukah), three-quarters of survey takers (75.5%) gave gifts that they qualified as “good for the earth or the environment.”

* Shoppers were thinking outside of the gift box for their “green” gifts:
– More than half (53.7%) choose eco-friendly wrapping
– Nearly 49% gave a homemade gift or one made from recycled materials
– Four out of 10 (41.5%) shopped at an environmentally friendly store

* The next time these gift givers are in the market for a present, nearly nine out of 10 of them (88.7%) are likely to choose a good-for-the-earth present.

If you’re wondering just who these folks were who took my survey, well they were predominantly female (94.3%), between the ages of 25 and 45 (75%) and practice green habits on a regular basis, including recycling (94.3%), using reusable bags for shopping (84.9%), paying bills online (73.6%), choosing organic or local foods (67.9%), and composting (47.2%).

Given this fondness for green gifts, in the next few days I’ll be posting some ideas for green Valentine’s Day gifts.