LOHAS

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

LOHAS is an acronym for Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability that refers to a demographic defining a particular market segment related to sustainable living, "green" ecological initiatives, and generally composed of a relatively upscale and well-educated population segment. Researchers have reported a range of sizes of the LOHAS market segment. For example, Worldwatch Institute reported that the LOHAS market segment in year 2006 was estimated at $300 billion, approximately 30% of the USA consumer market;[1][2] [3] and , a study by the Natural Marketing Institute showed that in 2007, 40 million Americans were included within the LOHAS demographic.[4] Author Paul H. Ray, who coined the term "Cultural Creatives" in his book by the same name, explains that "What you're seeing is a demand for products of equal quality that are also virtuous".[5][6] Included in the cultural creative demographic are consumers of "new age" goods and services.[7] [1]

Contents

[edit] Products and services

The marketplace includes goods and services such as:

  • Organic and locally grown food
  • Organic and natural personal care products
  • Hybrid and electric cars
  • Green and sustainable building
  • Energy efficient electronics/applicances
  • Socially responsible investing
  • Natural household products (paper goods and cleaning products)
  • CAM and preventive medicine (Naturopathic, Chinese medicine, etc.)
  • Fair trade products

[edit] Scope in Global Marketplace

LOHAS is a recognised market segment in the USA, Western Europe [especially Germany] and South East Asia. Progressive Asian countries, including Japan, Singapore and Taiwan have similarly aligned interests.

The Japanese government recently launched "Cool Biz", a campaign that encouraged offices to allow their workers to remove the tie and adopt light-colored business suits. This made great a contribution to the environment as offices adjusted their themostats up to 28 degree celcius, subject to the government's instruction.

[edit] See also

  • LOVOS - Lifestyles of Voluntary Simplicity

[edit] External Links

  • [1] LOHAS Journal Magazine and organizers of annual LOHAS Forum trade convention
  • LOHASwire.com Canadian news wire agency specializing in LOHAS

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Judith Rosen. "Crossing the Boundaries:Regardless of its label, this increasingly mainstream category continues to broaden its subject base", -- Publishers Weekly, 5/27/2002. 
  2. ^ Cohen, Maurie J. (January 2007). "Consumer credit, household financial management, and sustainable consumption". International Journal of Consumer Studies 31 (Volume 31 Issue 1): Page 57–65. doi:10.1111/j.1470-6431.2005.00485.x. 
  3. ^ Halweil, Brianink =; Lisa Mastny, Erik Assadourian, Linda Starke, Worldwatch Institute (2004). State of the World 2004: A Worldwatch Institute Report on Progress Toward a Sustainable Society. W. W. Norton & Company, 167. ISBN 0393325393. 
  4. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named NMI
  5. ^ Cortese, Amy. "They Care About the World (and They Shop, Too)", Business Section, New York Times, July 20, 2003. 
  6. ^ Everage, Laura. "Understanding the LOHAS Lifestyle", Gourmet Retailer Magazine, Nielsen Business Media, October 1, 2002. 
  7. ^ David Moore. "Body & Soul, yoga w/o the yoyos", Media Life, June 17, 2002. 
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