Poll Shows Nearly 60% of Young Americans Feel Strongly That the Government Should Be Doing More to Protect the Environment

BOSTON, April 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Youthography, North America's most significant full-service research and marketing communications agency dedicated exclusively to youth culture, today revealed that nearly 60% (58.7%) of young Americans aged 14-29 believe that "the government should be doing more to protect the environment." Furthermore, close to 75% of young Americans aged 9-29 believe the world will be more polluted in 25 years.

"Younger generations have grown up with recycling and the notion of being 'green', and they're experiencing the most dramatic effects of global warming we've seen," explains Mike Farrell, Chief Strategic Officer of Youthography. "That, coupled with the fact that they feel the government has not taken a leadership role on the environment has left them with a feeling of 'we need to do this, it's our future at stake.' This has brought many of them together, and they are starting to show some momentum as a powerful force. However, these attitudes have not reached a mainstream tipping point in terms of real effects on their actual behaviour - yet."

In Youthography's latest national, regionally representative Ping(TM) survey of more than 1,900 Americans aged 9-29, of the 14-29 year-olds, 54.5% females and 46.9% males placed top box importance (a rating of "4" or "5" on a scale from 1-5, "5" being "extremely important") when rating the concept of 'being environmentally friendly' in terms of its importance in their lives. Among the tweens (those between 9-13) 68.8% of female participants placed top box importance to 'taking care of the environment,' verses 54.7% for males; compelling attitudinal statement results to be sure.

Still, some results from the same study demonstrate significant disconnects between what young Americans say about the environment and what they're actually doing about it. While more than 90% of youth indicate a social cause is important to them, such concerns don't always map back to anxiety over the environment, especially when it comes to consumer purchase habits. Few, when making buying decisions, are considering such things as whether products are organic, or packaged with recycled materials. And, while the least of the concerns surrounded whether an item was ethically manufactured, only one in five (20%) are worried about how their product is made and the impact it could have on the earth.

Furthermore, when asked if 'people who drive cars that use a lot of gas should pay a special environmental tax,' only 29.1% of both males and females viewed this as a top box concern (a rating of "4" or "5" on a scale from 1-5, "5" being "completely agree").

On the upside, those between 14-29 were asked about things that go into making a buying decision. 36.9% females put top box importance (a rating of "4" or "5" on a scale from 1-5, "5" being "always consider this"), on 'do you consider buying environmentally friendly products,' versus 30.2% males. When shopping, 27.3% of this group look to reduce the amount of items with packaging 'most of the time' or 'always.'

And, when it comes to recycling, all age groups are taking a more active part with close to 1 in 2 young Americans "always" or "almost always" recycling newspapers, cans, bottles and plastics.

For more information on Youthography's Ping(TM) poll, including additional statistics and strategic insight regarding youth's perceptions on the environment, contact Darlene Hollywood at 781-837-2572.

About Youthography:

Youthography (http://www.youthography.com/), a division of the Y Syndicate, is North America's most significant full-service research and marketing communications agency dedicated exclusively to youth culture (ages 9-34). Youthography melds its exhaustive demographic-focused insight with disciplined brand and cultural strategy to help powerhouse brands (including McDonald's, American Eagle Outfitters, Motorola, Cadbury Adams, Mattel and Microsoft), and cultural and political institutions, understand and communicate with tweens, teens and young adults.

Grounded in research, Youthography delivers timely, market-critical insight on current/emerging trends with: Forward, a bi-weekly newsletter; PlayList, a monthly bulletin featuring music trends, important indicators of contemporary youth culture; and its flagship research engine, Ping(TM), an annually syndicated trend report.

The Y Syndicate (http://www.ysyndicate.com/) is North America's most significant full-service marketing communications collective with a focus on building youthful brands. The Y Syndicate includes Youthography, Riot Event + Sponsorship, and District Lifestyle Marketing, and has offices in Toronto and LA.