Media attention and the market for 'green' consumer products

There are signs that a general "counter-attack" is now being orchestrated against the "greens." This paper surveys the evidence regarding an "issue-attention" cycle in environmental concern in Western Europe and North America. It furthermore discusses the role of the news media in creating the cycle. It is well documented that the mass media plays an important role in determining which issues receive high or low attention by the general public. However, not only does the media's assessment of what is newsworthy mean that "green" businesses will eventually lose the current of a rising issue attention cycle, but also its mere success means that stories framing "green" businesses in a negative light become newsworthy while positive stories lose their newsworthiness. Therefore, and despite a large and loyal customer base, many "green" companies now find themselves in a much more hostile environment than a decade ago.

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