Green for Black in a Red Economy: Green Products Can Boost Total Sales

Earlier this week, Clorox published their company’s first quarter sales, and many were surprised to see a boost in net income by 15%. With an economy that seems to be tanking and costs continuing to rise, how did they do it? Simple: Green products.

Clorox recently launched its Green Works line, products that are better for the environment. They also have seen growth in their newly-owned Burt’s Bees products, Brita lines, as well as in some non-green products like their Glad ForceFlex trash bags and Kingsford charcoal (not surprising, as the quarter fell partially over the summer).

Since its launch and endorsement by the Sierra Club, the Green Works brand has generated over $40 million in sales – and that’s just in the first 8 months alone. Take into account that sales in other green cleaning products companies (like my favorite, Seventh Generation) have not fallen, and you’ll realize that Green Works products are being purchased mainly by consumers who were purchasing non-green products in the past. Yay!

I hope this story encourages you to support green lines within your own business. This just in: the economy sucks. Right now, you might be trying to scale back rather than introduce even more products, but in the green market, there really is money to be found.