Green Options

Can you afford to always buy eco-friendly products?  Really? Let’s face it, buying eco-friendly can be a budget busting experience at the best of times.

Now there’s a new eco-friendly place where you might be able to afford them.  Newly launched, Ecosteal.com sells modern, eco-friendly products featured one-at-a-time at 40-80% off retail price, until they sell out or 9am the next day.

My favorite radio station is usually giving the news every morning just about the time I’m making my boys’ lunches. Lately, I’ve been flipping the station as soon as I hear the news start. It’s a variation on a theme each morning. The Dow is down. One bank or another is failing. The government is considering bailing out one industry or another. Consumer confidence is hitting record lows, and even the holiday season won’t reverse that. People will be spending a lot less than they have in previous years.

A study of Americans done by the retailer Plow & Hearth, however, shows that some consumers - green consumers - are willing to spend a little more to buy a product that is environmentally friendly. According to an article on Portland Business Journal the study found that

About two-thirds of those going green this year say they are willing to spend between 10 percent and 25 percent more to by ecofriendly holiday green gifts.

Here are a few other statistics that the study found:

• 55% of women are likely to purchase green products
• 45% of men are likely to purchase green products
• Middle-aged and younger people are more likely to buy green than older people
• Those who live in the West are more likely to buy eco-friendly than other parts of the country
• 34% said that money is the most important factor when it comes to deciding about purchasing an eco-friendly product

So what can we conclude from this?

This is just a little reminder to pop on over to thisnext now, or tomorrow, if you haven’t already, and try to WIN this adorable solar charger. All you have to do is recommend you favorite eco-friendly products to enter and you could win a Solio solar powered portable charger. They say:

“Harness the energy of the sun for those dire times when your cell phone battery is getting low, your iPod is about to die (and you just have to listen to THAT song), or your PSP is about to shut off in the middle of getting the high score. Solve your electronic woes the green way with this solar powered portable charger and never have to worry again.”

The winner will