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HOME DEPOT TO INTRODUCE MORE 'GREEN' PRODUCTS

International Herald Tribune
By Michael Barbaro
April 16, 2007

After battling over prices for decades, so-called big-box retail chains in the United States are set to fight it out in a new arena: the environment.

Home Depot will introduce a line of 3,000 products, like fluorescent light bulbs and natural insect killers, that promote clean water and energy conservation.

The product line - expected to reach 6,000 products by 2009, or 12 percent of the chain's total - would become the largest "green" labeling program in American retailing and could persuade competitors to speed up similar plans.

And it signals that Home Depot, the second-largest U.S. retailer, is joining the first, Wal-Mart Stores, in trying to educate shoppers about issues, like climate change, that stores have traditionally left to the government and environmental groups.

Executives of Home Depot said that as the world's largest buyer of building materials, the company had the power to persuade thousands of suppliers, home builders and consumers to follow its lead.

"Who in the world has a chance to have a bigger impact on this sector than Home Depot?" said Ron Jarvis, the head of environmental sustainability at the retailer, which is based in Atlanta.

But persuading many Americans to buy greener products could prove an uphill battle, at least for now, environmentalists have said.

Decades of research has shown that consumers frequently say they want more environmentally sustainable products but that they purchase them less often.

"There has not been a lot of success, frankly," said Laurie Demeritt, president of Hartman Group, which consults with retailers like Wal-Mart and Whole Foods on how to sell environmental sustainability programs.

The one big exception is organic foods. But even in that case, Demeritt said, consumers are motivated by health benefits, not the environmental impact.

Jarvis said Home Depot had found that, "given the option of a product that performs just as well, we are seeing the consumer would rather buy something that has less of an impact on the environment, adding, "We are just making that easier."

Roughly 90 percent of the products in the new line are currently on Home Depot's shelves, but new labeling will identify them as environmentally conscious alternatives.

Suppliers who earn the Eco Option label will be rewarded with prominent shelf space in Home Depot's 3,000 stores and aggressive marketing in weekly advertising supplements.

Merchandise can qualify for the new line in two ways: by meeting widely accepted federal and industry standards, like the Energy Star or Forestry Stewardship Council certification process, or by having its environmental claims tested by an outside concern, Scientific Certification Systems.

Ultimately, Home Depot - rather than a third party - will determine what products earn an Eco Options label.