Green Shoppers Are Meaner, Study Shows

Being green might be the thing to do – and the admirable one as well –, but a recent study comes to show that it too comes at a price, which has nothing to do with us being willing to give it a try. Environmentally aware shoppers are more likely to be mean, while also more inclined to steal and cheat, the findings of the study indicate, as the Daily Mail can confirm.

The phenomenon is dubbed “compensatory ethics” and implies that being good in one aspect of our life makes us meaner in another, which is to say, there’s only so much goodness in us. The effort and altruism that goes into leading a life by the green precepts are so immense that we can no longer spare some for other things. This, in turn makes us meaner and more likely to cheat and steal – at least, when compared with regular shoppers whose last concern is the environment.

“Environmentally aware consumers are more likely to lie, cheat and be unkind than regular shoppers, a study suggests. Researchers say that people have a limited stock of goodwill and that being virtuous in one part of life leads to meanness in another. The phenomenon – dubbed ‘compensatory ethics’ – came to light in a series of experiments carried out by psychologists at the University of Toronto,” the Mail says of the recent study.

“People act less altruistically and are more likely to cheat and steal after purchasing green products as opposed to conventional products. The halo associated with green consumerism has to be taken with reservations. While mere exposure to green products can have a positive effect by inducing prosocial and ethical acts, purchasing green products may license indulgence in self-interested and unethical behaviors,” Nina Mazar, lead author of the study, says of the surprising findings.

That green shopping affects morality to some extent was established by having 90 volunteers divided into two groups, one shopping at a regular online store, while the other had to make only green purchases. The members of the latter group cheated at a subsequent computer game, while those of the former did not, the Mail says.