A 2009 Grocery Manufacturers Association survey at 11 national chains found that more than half the shoppers interviewed consider green attributes when making purchases. Yet, less than half of the shoppers who were there looking for green products actually found them; only 22 percent of the 6,400 people surveyed ended up buying green products. Researchers concluded that grocers need to do a better job of educating shoppers and promoting green products in stores.

Other key statistics also emerged: About 2 percent of those surveyed classify themselves as committed to buying products based on sustainability attributes whenever possible; 18 percent consider themselves proactive in weighing environmental factors with other values; while sustainable products influence 34 percent, all other things being equal. On the flip side, a third of shoppers were unsure or neutral about eco-attributes and 13 percent rejected or didn’t know anything about going green.