How America is Going Green
Purchases of green products on Amazon “map” right onto the regional stereotypes you might expect – with a few surprises.
It can be difficult to wade through all the competing claims and find some hard data on the larger environmental movement in the United States. But if cross-category purchases of green products from the nation’s largest online retailer have anything to say about it, then Amazon may be capable of providing that larger picture of how America is going green.
Researchers from Amazon have tried to do just that, by measuring the purchases over the last year of various segments of green products (Water Conservation, Energy Savings, Garden-To-Table, etc.) across geographical coordinates and labeling each zone as “hot” or “cold” based on its deviation from the national average. The results give a broad sense of the growing trend of green buying in this country, and some interesting trivia to boot. And of course, a cool-looking map, which shows how each US region is going green in its own way.
We first looked at Water Conservation purchases, based on Watersense products, books on Water Conservation, and Rain Barrels. New Mexico and Arizona are the top states for water conservation purchases, with Montana coming in a close third. Rain Barrel sales are picking up across the country from Roanoke, VA to Northern California. Yet rainy Seattle, known for its all around "green-ness", drops well below the national average for purchase of rain barrels. Finally, people in Santa Cruz are truly “going" green, with the most purchases of Green Toilets in the nation.
To find leaders in Energy Savings, we looked at renewable energy products (wind generators and solar panels), power conservation and energy management products, and green electronics (ENERGY STAR, EPEAT certified, and LED bulbs). Florida, Nevada, and California are the top three states for energy savings purchases compared to the national average. Daytona Beach, FL residents take advantage of their sunny climate, with the most purchases of solar panels. But Lacrosse, WI is keen on learning more about energy savings: they top the nation in books on Energy Efficiency.
Next we looked at the Garden-to-Table, which includes gardening products (from seeds to fertilizer to moisture monitors), books on gardening and organic cooking, and composting products. Amazon’s Home & Garden team has seen increased demand for organic seeds and fertilizer, composting products, and indoor germination products across the board. Grand Junction, CO buys over three times the national average of composting products, and Eureka, CA is the place for green thumbs, over indexing in purchases of gardening products. The Midwest has a bit of growing to do – they lag behind the rest of the nation in Garden-to-table purchases.
Many parents are choosing greener options from organic cotton clothing to toys made from renewable resources. When analyzing trends in Green Parenting – purchases of Green Baby and Toys products – Vermont, Massachusetts and Washington represent the top states of “greener parents.” Nationwide, the Northeast purchases more green for their little ones than the West.
Based on purchases of environmental books, Vermont, Montana, and Washington, DC residents top our list of Most Well-Read Environmentalists. On a local level, Missoula, Montana residents just might be way more environmentally knowledgeable than the rest of us, with well over five times the national average of environmental book purchases.
On a national level, it’s really no surprise that California, New Hampshire, and Vermont residents purchase the greenest products (excluding books) across categories, compared to the national average.
The regionality of Amazon’s maps is evidence against the tendency to think of the Internet as an enabler of irresponsible, far-flung purchases. Yes, the Internet does make it possible for people to buy extravagant things from exotic places. But it also makes it easier for people to find things they need to live greener lives at home. And that's what Amazon's customers are doing, wherever their home happens to be.
The following visualizations were generated to depict actual sales data from the last year of green purchases. Each area of the map is expressed in terms of the national average for each catagory, normalized by Amazon units shipped. Learn more about going green at Amazon.com/EarthDay.
John on April 18, 2011 at 03:00 PM
This is very cool. Thanks for sharing.
n-sure on April 18, 2011 at 11:16 PM
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mary on April 19, 2011 at 04:31 PM
cool to actually see what customer's are doing and LOVE the images!
Fred on April 23, 2011 at 04:02 AM
I think this environmentalism is all horse manure. First, I don't believe it's been proven that man or animals are creating an environmental wasteland. Second, I believe that so much of your article concerning gardening, etc has been going on since I was a pup (I'm 63). However, today they call it environmentalism. Anything to keep these naysayers relevent. There is no proof regarding their theories. Just hypothesis using computer based testing models. Models that cannot factor in all variables.
Commonsense living will provide the same savings that solar will. For me to 'solarize' my home (1200 sq. ft) would cost between $20 - $30k. I would have to have all appliances to be electric. I use gas for most of my appliances (oven, dryer, central heating, water heater). My monthly average electric bill is $59.00. My monthly average gas bill is $68.00. Forget the cost of converting but at that rate I would have to live in my home to be 81 years old to realize payback. This does not include the cost to replace any appliances such as washer, dryer, air conditioner, heater. In addition, the cost of repairs (damage from high winds, hail, etc) to the solar panels over these same years.
I would say this is a young person purchase but unless I'm wrong, the average length of 'same' home ownership is less than 10 years. Not nearly enough time to realize any payback.
Solar is not only overly expensive but requires possible structural changes to one's home in order to support the weight of the panels. What are these panels? Nothing more than a maze of pipes in which a liquid sits (does this liquid evaporate? Does it create it's own environmental hazard should the pipes (pvc) break?) and requires sunlight to generate enough heat to last throughout the night. Questions to ask is there enough sunlight throughout the year that will provide the necessary heat? If not, you have to factor this into your overall costs.
As far as gardening, there are many factors as to why this has occurred. A primary reason would be that the baby boom generation is retiring and living on fixed incomes. These are the ones that will garden. What you don't show is what is the age of those purchasing what. Would give a better perspective. But no, all your concerned with is selling the youth on environmentalism.
Mary23 on April 25, 2011 at 08:48 AM
With all respect to Fred, the green ship has sailed and his retirement portfolio is beginning to reflect it as well -- the more sustainable companies are, the better they are doing in the investment market as the savings go right to the bottom line.
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