Evolving Eco-Online

Although green shopping is emerging as an important category, it can be difficult for consumers to find what they want. Retailers are looking for ways to highlight their eco-friendly products online, while making it easier for shoppers to make informed purchasing decisions.

As a result, retailers are partnering with online comparison-shopping sites such as PriceGrabber.com, a Los Angeles-based company that provides unbiased comparative information on more than 24 million products across an array of categories.

PriceGrabber.com launched a “ShopGreen” section in June to provide a selection of green products in one cohesive section of the site. Initial retailers with products offered on ShopGreen included Staples, Office Depot, Hemp Clothiers and Green-culture. Featured sponsors included Sephora, Backcountry.com, Planetshoes.com and Novica.

“Retailers are starting to recognize the value of demonstrating to consumers which of their products are more ‘green’ than others,” said Ron LaPierre, president of Pricegrabber.com, adding that the Internet is a prime outlet for companies to do so.

At its core, the e-commerce world is a very green industry, LaPierre said. Online purchases generate less paper waste such as receipts and shopping bags. And electronic marketing campaigns, such as e-mail blasts, can save company resources.

“Companies like Staples and Smart-Home have also added ‘green’ messages to many of their marketing campaigns and are extending those messages online through efforts like ShopGreen,” he noted.

Although PriceGrabber.com has always included a selection of “green” items on its site, the company received many requests for a comparison-shopping section specific to these products.

“ShopGreen was created to meet this need, as well as build environmental awareness,” LaPierre said. “We are not trying to be part of the ‘green movement’ per se, but we realize that most people would choose to live ‘greener’ if it were made easier for them. This is the niche we want to fill.”

ShopGreen features all of the same product services as PriceGrabber.com, such as consumer-product reviews, side-by-side product comparisons, merchant reviews and e-mail notification of price changes.

ShopGreen allows users to search through its 20,000 green products in the following channels: Home, Him, Her, Kids, Office and Fun. Products are also identified by whether they might be organic, ENERGY STAR compliant or biodegradable.

ShopGreen also has a blog that addresses environmental issues and shares everyday eco-tips.

Although the company would not release information regarding its click-through and conversion rates, the site has experienced a “positive response evidenced by ShopGreen traffic rates and e-mails from users,” LaPierre said.

As green shopping continues to emerge online, LaPierre said he hopes retailers will fuse more green practices into their business.

“We’d love to see more retailers evolve their packaging practices to use more recycled and biodegradable materials,” he added. “In addition, a greater use and development of localized distribution centers to minimize the carbon footprint created by shipping online purchases is a great idea for retailers to strive for.”