It seems this year we have been plagued with study after study about the “conscious consumer.”  But what exactly is the conscious consumer?

Some studies have split and grouped Americans on their position about climate change, such as the case of Global Warming’s Six Americas 2009.  They have fragmented the American population into a hierarchy of six categories based upon how they feel about the change climate:

• Alarmed – 18%
• Concerned – 33%
• Cautious – 19%
• Disengaged – 12%
• Doubtful – 11%
• Dismissive  -7%

These six audiences were identified using a large nationally representative survey of American adults conducted in the fall of 2008, according to the report.

But how do these views/concerns translate to the choices of the American consumer?

With the closing of Sustainable Brands 2009 last week and string of marketing/consumer studies, such as BBMG, a marketing company that promotes “conscious consumerism,” states in its report “Redefining Value in a New Economy” that the majority of respondents will still express “interest in green…despite economy.”   However, they have “no way of knowing” if a product is green or actually does what it claims.

What does this mean for the advertisers?  Consumers are increasingly tying their views, opinions and values affect with their consumer choices.  But in order for the gap to close between the “ideology” of the consumer and their checkout purchases, one must be increasingly transparent – as well as validated by third-party certifications.