Portland ranks third for 'Super Greenies'

If you’re an adult who engages in 10 or more green activities regularly — and that could be recycling or using rechargeable batteries or reusing grocery store bags — Scarborough Research has a new label for you.

You’re a “Super Greenie.”

And if you live in Pacific Northwest, you have a lot of company.

The New York-based research firm on Thursday released a nationwide study about the behavior — politically, economically, and socially — of the Super Greenie.

The report included a geographic breakdown of the Super Greenie population, which accounts for 5 percent of all U.S. adults.

Portland ranks third, with 11 percent of the population fitting the Super Greenie definition, putting the city on par with San Diego and behind Seattle (13 percent) and San Francisco (17 percent).

In other pieces of Super Green trivia, the Super Green population is 76 percent more likely than the average adult to have an annual household income of $150,000 or greater, is likely to own a home valued above $500,000 as well as a second home, and are 49 percent more likely to plan to buy a new luxury vehicle in the next year.

“Today’s environmentalists have traded sandals and hemp for cashmere and a Lexus,” Deirdre McFarland, Scarborough’s vice president of marketing, said in a news release. “As the American economy continues to try to find its footing, luxury marketers — or, really, any marketer who wants to capture the American high spending population — could benefit from green‐focused marketing, promotions and products.”

To view a slideshow showing the Top 10 “Super Green” markets, visit the Puget Sound Business Journal.

@ErikSiemers | esiemers@bizjournals.com | 503-219-3418