Greening the Planet Requires Database Marketing

OLATHE, KS--(Marketwire - February 2, 2009) - Data from a national study by Ruf Strategic Solutions, a marketing research company, reveals a new Green Consumer Index (GCI). With environmental purchases increasing, the study identifies U.S. households with high environmental concern who currently practice sustainable consumerism. The highest concentration of environmentally conscious households were found in the Southwest.

Download a free map (http://www.ruf.com/green) revealing where green consumers reside across the U.S.

Among the data points researched including attitudes on recycling, highly pollutant products, hybrid vehicles, nutrition and travel, it has been found that green consumers take strong stances on political and environmental activism, travel and consumerism. When compared to the average household, green consumers:

--  Are 38% more liberal in their political views
--  Are 35% more likely to spend $50 or less in groceries per week
--  Purchase 24% more products from home shopping programs
--  Use public transportation 23% more often
    

Understanding the impact of making environmentally conscious consumer purchases can drive consumers to increase incorporating these practices into their daily habits. From the increase of education and marketing of organic products, U.S. sales of organic food and beverages have grown from $1 billion in 1990 to an estimated $20 billion in 2007, according to the Organic Trade Association. Additionally, organic non-food sales grew 26 percent in 2006.

Ruf Strategic Solutions has packaged the study to show GCI statistics by location and demographics.

About GCI Study: The Green Consumer Index (GCI), produced by Ruf Strategic Solutions, is a score that ranks U.S. consumers by their "green" attitudes and behaviors. The score is used to rank more than 100 million consumers in the U.S. and defines green consumers by their demographics, geographics, psychographics, lifestyle characteristics, buying behaviors and media preferences.

About Ruf Strategic Solutions: Ruf Strategic Solutions delivers marketing intelligence solutions to help organizations acquire new customers, retain existing customers and develop one-to one relationships to maximize profitability. Ruf's unique ability to integrate vast arrays of data, technology tools and more than 33 years of expertise, empowers organizations with truly actionable and measurable intelligence. For more information, visit www.ruf.com.

Contact Information: Contact: Valerie Jennings 816-221-1040 Cali@jenningspr.net