Reading about the Green Marketplace

With the Green Marketplace constantly growing, it is hard to publish a book that doesn’t go out of date in a matter of months. No matter how the numbers change, however, the importance of understanding the value-based LOHAS consumer remains the same, and there are several books out there that can help green businesses understand what makes LOHAS consumers tick.

The Cultural Creatives:
How 50 million People Are Changing the World
Paul Ray and Sherry Anderson
Three Rivers Press, 2001
(ISBN 0609808451)

A fantastic primer for businesses wanting to learn more about the LOHAS market. In addition to some basic demographics and survey information, Ray and Anderson write in depth about the values of the Cultural Creative, and how to best speak to those values to draw Cultural Creatives into the Green Marketplace. Ray and Anderson give detailed accounts of the importance of authenticity and product narrative to Cultural Creatives, and describe how Cultural Creatives react and identify with different products and different marketing campaigns.

Green Marketing: Opportunity for Innovation (2nd Edition)
Jacquelyn A. Ottoman
NTC Business Books, 1997
(ISBN 0844232394)

Ottoman explores the core values of the Green Marketplace, defines different kinds of green consumers, and explores their concerns and motivations in the market. Also included are in-depth case studies about companies who have successfully communicated with LOHAS consumers.

An Enlightened Approach:
A Spiritual Approach to Creating and Marketing a Company
Grace Bulgur
Avalon Publishing Group, 2001
(ISBN 1569245444)

Bulgur, a marketing consultant and entrepreneur, offers a new approach to marketing, one that embraces the "discovery and expression" of a company’s spirit. Through research, personal stories, and real-life examples, Bulgur examines how companies can embrace their values and how they can use those values to create true and compelling stories for consumers.

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