Experts hope downturn will spur environmental progress

By Shannon Proudfoot, Canwest News Service, March 10, 2009

Canadian households are gradually going green, a new Statistics Canada report shows, and experts hope economic woes will encourage those efforts rather than stall them.

The survey, released Tuesday, shows Canadian families are embracing energy-efficient light bulbs, water-conserving toilets and shower heads, reusable shopping bags and eschewing bottled water in growing numbers.

Eco products often carry a premium price tag but save consumers money over the long run, conservation experts say, and that's a big draw when everyone is anxiously watching their bank accounts.

"Not only are these choices environmentally friendly, but they leave more money in the wallets of Canadians as well," says Pierre Sadik, senior policy adviser for the David Suzuki Foundation. "Not surprisingly and quite sensibly, I think Canadians are seeing that there's a double payoff here, environmentally and financially."

Energy-efficient light bulb manufacturers are savvy about this and often emblazon their packaging with a dollar figure to illustrate the energy saved with their product, he says.

Similarly, Sadik says the economic incentive of stores charging for plastic bags has fuelled huge growth in the uptake of reusable shopping bags over the last few years.

Nearly 30 per cent of households always use recyclable bags when shopping, the StatsCan report shows, though those figures are from 2007 and Sadik estimates it's now closer to half of all households. "I'd say that's the most rapid [change] in the past few years, because it's pretty obvious to Canadians and it's so easy to switch," he says.

On the other hand, premium-priced organic foods with no savings trade-off are an easy casualty of the tough economy, Sadik says, but he hopes the five per cent of households who say they always buy organic will rise as the products become more affordable and widely available.

No matter how dedicated the green consumer, accessibility has a big impact on purchasing decisions, says Brenda Plant, co-director of Montreal-based Ethiquette.ca, a steadily growing directory of almost 1,000 sustainable consumer products.

Eco-friendly fashion, bags, shoes and cleaning products are the most popular searches on their site, she says, but when they survey customers about what they actually buy, green cleaning products and organic food top the list and clothing falls near the bottom because of the relative difficulty in finding them.

"People don't tend to like to make sacrifices themselves if they feel they are alone," Plant says. "It's the old, 'Why should I give up my car if the neighbour is going to go on driving his SUV?' type of thing."

Bruce Cox, executive director of Greenpeace Canada, notes the environment was the top public concern when the StatsCan survey was conducted in 2007; now it's the economy.