LOHAS
Encyclopedia
Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) is 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. The 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." Included in the cultural creative demographic are consumers of New Age
goods and services.
Researchers have reported a range of sizes of the LOHAS market segment. For example, Worldwatch Institute
reported that the LOHAS market segment in the year 2006 was estimated at $300 billion, approximately 30% of the U.S. consumer market; and, a study by the Natural Marketing Institute showed that in 2007, 40 million Americans were included within the LOHAS demographic.
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 a great contribution to the environment as offices adjusted their themostats up to 28 degree Celsius, subject to the government's instruction.
Market segment
Market segmentation is a concept in economics and marketing. A market segment is a sub-set of a market made up of people or organizations with one or more characteristics that cause them to demand similar product and/or services based on qualities of those products such as price or function...
related to sustainable living
Sustainable living
Sustainable living is a lifestyle that attempts to reduce an individual's or society's use of the Earth's natural resources and his/her own resources. Practitioners of sustainable living often attempt to reduce their carbon footprint by altering methods of transportation, energy consumption and diet...
, "green" ecological initiatives, and generally composed of a relatively upscale and well-educated population segment. The author Paul H. Ray, who coined the term Cultural Creatives in his book by the same name
The Cultural Creatives
The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World is a nonfiction social sciences and sociology book by sociologist Paul H. Ray, Ph.D. and psychologist Sherry Ruth Anderson, Ph.D., first published in 2000...
, explains that "What you're seeing is a demand for products of equal quality that are also virtuous." Included in the cultural creative demographic are consumers of New Age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
goods and services.
Researchers have reported a range of sizes of the LOHAS market segment. For example, Worldwatch Institute
Worldwatch Institute
The Worldwatch Institute is a globally focused environmental research organization based in Washington, D.C. Worldwatch was named as one of the top ten sustainable development research organizations by Globescan Survey of Sustainability Experts.-Mission:...
reported that the LOHAS market segment in the year 2006 was estimated at $300 billion, approximately 30% of the U.S. consumer market; and, a study by the Natural Marketing Institute showed that in 2007, 40 million Americans were included within the LOHAS demographic.
Products and services
The marketplace includes goods and services such as:- OrganicOrganic foodOrganic foods are foods that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.For the...
and locally grown food - Organic and natural personal care products
- HybridHybrid electric vehicleA hybrid electric vehicle is a type of hybrid vehicle and electric vehicle which combines a conventional internal combustion engine propulsion system with an electric propulsion system. The presence of the electric powertrain is intended to achieve either better fuel economy than a conventional...
and electric cars as well as city bicyclesEuropean city bikeA European city bike, or simply city bike is a bicycle designed for frequent short, moderately paced rides through relatively flat urban areas... - Green and sustainable building
- Energy efficient electronics/applicances
- Socially responsible investingSocially responsible investingSocially responsible investing , also known as sustainable, socially conscious, or ethical investing, describes an investment strategy which seeks to consider both financial return and social good....
- Natural household products (paper goods and cleaning products)
- Complementary, alternative and preventive medicine (Naturopathy, Chinese medicine, etc.)
- Fair tradeFair tradeFair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as higher social and environmental standards...
products - Literature in the Mind/Body/Soul, Holistic Health, and New AgeNew AgeThe New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
genres
Scope
LOHAS is a recognised market segment in the USA, Western Europe 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 a great contribution to the environment as offices adjusted their themostats up to 28 degree Celsius, subject to the government's instruction.
See also
- LOVOSLovosLOVOS is an acronym for Lifestyles of Voluntary Simplicity which are oriented to health and sustainability; and are critical of consumption and consumerism....
– Lifestyles of Voluntary Simplicity - Natural CapitalismNatural capitalismNatural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution is a 1999 book co-authored by Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins and Hunter Lovins. It has been translated into a dozen languages and was the subject of a Harvard Business Review summary....
- Sustainable businessSustainable businessSustainable business, or green business, is enterprise that has no negative impact on the global or local environment, community, society, or economy—a business that strives to meet the triple bottom line. Often, sustainable businesses have progressive environmental and human rights policies...
- Triple bottom lineTriple bottom lineThe triple bottom line captures an expanded spectrum of values and criteria for measuring organizational success: economic, ecological, and social...
- SLOHAS - Slow Lifestyles of Happiness and Sustainability
External links
- http://lohas.com/ LOHAS Journal Magazine and organizers of annual LOHAS Forum trade convention
- LOHASwire.com Canadian news wire agency specializing in LOHAS
- http://www.hlctv.net/chiccities Chic Cities - A current weekend series on Hong Kong / Shanghai / Tai Pei Lifestyle with introduction to latest trends, places of interest, shops and restaurants, celebrity interviews and many more.
- The Source Asia Hong Kong based Online Magazine focused on LOHAS and Holistic living.
- LOHAS and The Indigo Dollar: Growing The Spiritual Economy Article critical of LOHAS' mobilization of spirituality.