FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Nancy White
The Natural Marketing Institute
215.513.7300 ext. 225
Nancy.White@NMIsolutions.com

Is it Cool To Be Green?

Consumer interest in the health, wellness, and sustainability of our planet continues to gain momentum

Harleysville, Pa. (August 2005) The Natural Marketing Institute (NMI), the leading provider of strategic consulting, consumer insights and market research services across various health and wellness industries, today expanded on one of the trends it has identified as having a significant impact on the health and wellness marketplace. This trend is the fifth in the series of NMI's Top Ten Trends of 2005.

Trend #5: Planetary Health and Wellness: Is it Cool to Be Green?

According to NMI's 2004 Health & Wellness Trends Database™ (HWTD) and 2005 LOHAS Consumer Trends Database™ (LCTD), health and wellness continues to evolve from the traditional definition of personal health and wellness to that of planetary health and wellness. Trends point to increased consumer interest in environmental/green packaged goods, hybrid vehicles, green home building products, and energy-efficient products, among others.

According to NMI Managing Partner Steve French, "Almost one in four American consumers state that when given the choice to buy a product or service, they make decisions with an understanding of the effect the purchase will have on the health and sustainability of the world, its environment and people. This concept exemplifies the LOHAS (Lifestyles Of Health And Sustainability) platform that explores a wide range of consumer attitudes, behavior dynamics, and usage patterns across many industries, with a values-based approach to the health and wellness of people, products, and our planet."

Fifty million consumers (or 23% of general population adults) are considered LOHAS consumers. NMI's proprietary consumer segmentation model identified four distinct segments of the U.S. population:

• LOHAS: Significantly affected by their concern for the health of their families, the sustainability of the planet, their personal development and the future of society (23% of the general population)

• NOMADICS: Tend to move from place to place with regard to personal ideals, environmental platforms and the overall relevance of sustainability (38% of the general population)

• CENTRISTS: An assemblage who congregate toward the conservative end of the spectrum when it comes to dealing with health and sustainability (27% of the general population)

• INDIFFERENTS: Caught up in the day-to-day challenges, not necessarily looking out for tomorrow (12% of the general population).

The identification and understanding of these consumer segments is vital to many organizations with regard to consumer targeting, marketing strategies, new product development, and a range of other initiatives.

It is clearly evident that LOHAS consumers are deeply committed to their values and, in turn, these values drive interest in many products and industries. For example, 92% of LOHAS consumers care about the use of renewable energy sources (versus only 38% of non-LOHAS consumers), while 80% of LOHAS consumers care about socially responsible business practices (versus 28% of non-LOHAS consumers).

NMI's published report series, Understanding the LOHAS Consumer™, analyzes consumers' dynamic attitudes, behaviors, product usage, lifestyles and demographics and can assist in developing a strong understanding of this rapidly-evolving marketplace. Choose from one of 15 reports. For more information or to review Tables of Contents, visit our website at http://www.nmisolutions.com/r_lohas.html.

NMI's Health & Wellness Trends Database™ (HWTD), LOHAS Consumer Trends Database™ (LCTD) and other proprietary data sources can provide a wealth of insight for companies in the health and wellness marketplace. For more information on the NMI's consumer databases, contact NMI or visit our website at http://www.nmisolutions.com/tools.html.

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NMI is a strategic consulting, market research, and business development company specializing in the health, wellness, and sustainable marketplace. For more information on NMI's trend reports, proprietary databases and other services, visit NMI's web site at www.NMIsolutions.com.

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