Sales of Green Gifts for Grads on the Rise

April 24, 2012 - PRLog -- Students graduating from college and high school are increasingly being given green gifts that reflect their values and satisfy their passion for eco-conscious products. Recent sales from distributors of AusPen eco-friendly markers indicate that people are looking for grad gifts that will meet the demand of Generation Y graduates: that the products they use are sustainable, healthy and cost-effective. Millennials are well educated and resourceful in finding green products, and family and friends giving grad gifts are catering to their eco sensibilities.  

“Our sales this graduating season are already ahead of other graduating seasons,” explains Kerry Tuttle of EcoSmart Products. “As grads get ready for that next step in their careers, studies or travels, they are being gifted according to their heightened awareness of non-toxic and eco-friendly products.”  The 2012 cohort of graduating students are well connected to social media and internet marketing, where the health, safety and sustainability of everyday products are examined and often exposed.

“Social media plays a huge role in driving the trend towards eco-friendly products,” says Tuttle. “Just as recent studies into the potentially harmful effects of fragrances and beauty products have created a stir in the cosmetics world, so has negative attention on the toxicity and wastefulness of products created a stronger demand for non-toxic and less wasteful alternatives.” Traditional brands of everyday beauty products, cleaning supplies and school and office supplies are being forced to adapt or lose their market share.  

This year for graduation, EcoSmart Products is selling approximately twice as much of its flagship product – non-toxic and refillable dry-erase markers. “We are seeing that students setting out into the fields of teaching, business and health are asking for a set of refillable markers and inks that will eliminate pounds of discarded markers and harmful toxins in the air they breathe,” says Tuttle, referring to the regular disposable markers that can be found virtually everywhere a whiteboard is located. And parents are responding to this green consumer trend and equipping their grad for the future.

Tuttle sees no end in sight for the demand for her eco-friendly markers. Part of the reason is that celebrities are increasingly raising the profile of products, companies and projects that are benefitting the earth and human health.  “But it’s often the students themselves who put the pressure on their teachers to consider green alternatives to toxic markers,” says Tuttle. “And this trend will only increase as recent grads reach their own full purchasing power as young professionals”.