In the previous post we asked: What if free range eggs were sold like carbon offsets? The answer: Free range eggs would not be found on supermarket shelves. Instead they would be subsidized through a chicken charity, which asked for donations online.

The implication: If free range eggs were packaged like offsets, they wouldn’t get close to the 40% market share they enjoy in the UK.

Lucky for the chickens, free range eggs are not sold like offsets. The same goes for fair trade chocolate, hybrid cars, recycled paper and dolphin friendly tuna.

These ethical consumer products have been a huge commercial success. So how exactly do they differ from carbon offsets? In other words, why are consumers barely touching offsets, while other eco products are selling like environmental hot cakes?

Let’s look at the offset buying experience from the perspective of Joe the consumer:

• Joe must remember to offset. All successful eco products are offered at the moment you need something. Joe needs eggs, so he might choose free range eggs. Joe needs a new car, so he might buy a hybrid. But when buying offsets, Joe needs to interrupt whatever else he is doing, in order to go online and make his contribution to the Earth. Why would he bother?

• Joe gets nothing tangible. When Joe chooses a $5 box of free range eggs over a $3 regular box, he does not think “I spent $3 on eggs, and $2 on some freerangeness.” Joe views it as a single transaction - he simply chose some more expensive eggs. But carbon offsets don’t feel like this. You don’t pay a little extra for a green flight. Instead, you buy a flight, then you offset it. So the offset itself gives you nothing tangible in exchange for your money.

• Joe has to pay a hefty sum. Let’s say Joe buys 30 boxes of free range eggs annually. This means he spends $60 extra per year, compared to normal eggs. But Joe doesn’t think like this. Instead, each time he buys eggs, he spends an extra $2, and two bucks seems like a small amount of money. If we asked Joe to pay the $60 in one lump sum, he’d say no. The same goes for spending $100+ on offsets in a single sitting.

• Joe can’t see any upside. Many ethical products give the buyer some benefit, even if it’s minor and hard to prove. Are free range eggs healthier because the chickens are happier? Is fair trade chocolate tastier because its cocoa wasn’t grown under duress? Do hybrid cars offer a smoother ride? The true answer doesn’t matter. What’s important is that the buyer can persuade themselves of some kind of upside. Consumer offsets give no upside at all.

• Joe can’t show off casually. Some eco purchases are a natural status symbol. Prius owners needn’t boast to their friends about helping the Earth. They simply show up in the Prius. When I take a reusable canvas shopping bag to the store, its bright green colors scream for miles. But I’m not being self-righteous - I’m simply going shopping. Consumer offsets offer nothing similar. To show off being carbon neutral, Joe has to stick a label on his car. It can feel a little dumb.

• Joe feels disconnected. When Joe buys free range eggs, he knows these eggs came from a happier chicken. The same goes for recycled paper - this piece of paper didn’t chop down a tree. But when buying offsets, Joe can’t say this tank of gas is carbon neutral, since his car is still belching CO2 into the atmosphere. This makes Joe wonder if offsets do any good at all.

This last problem cannot be avoided. By their nature, carbon offsets are disconnected from our actual emissions. They compensate rather than reduce.

Still, offsets are the only realistic way for consumers to combat global warming, at least until there are biofuel flights and electric cars fed by renewable power sources. I think plenty can be done about the other 5 problems.

In the last post of this series, we’ll be giving some concrete answers to this question:

How should carbon offsets be packaged to be more tempting for consumers?

More soon…