The Baby Boomer Buying Habit That's Actually Backed By Science

Different generations have different ways of shopping. Nicknamed "the boomer consumers," people born between the mid-1940s through the mid-1960s shop noticeably differently than do Gen X, millennials, and Gen Z. And considering how boomers make up over one-third of U.S. households, those shopping choices have a big impact on the environment. Indeed, baby boomer buying habits are, in some cases, shockingly eco-friendly — especially when it comes to avoiding aerosol products.

In the United States, baby boomers are responsible for a disproportionate amount of retail shopping, and the biggest whale is Walmart. Around 17% of boomers' spending goes directly to Walmart, while another 9% goes directly to Amazon (via Numerator). Another 5% of boomers' share of spending goes to Costco. Needless to say, boomers are a make-or-break demographic for big box chains and retailers. Yet, although baby boomers prefer large retailers (boomers are also the main lifeline for traditional shopping channel and advertisements), some of their product choices are remarkably environmentally friendly.

Boomers were coming of age around the same time that the destructive power of CFCs were discovered. In the 1970s, scientists began warning the public of the damage that their aerosol products were inflicting on the atmosphere. The data was clear: The chlorofluorocarbon gases, or CFCs, used in refrigeration, solvents, hair spray, and many other products were eating a hole through the ozone layer. Informed citizens abandoned their hair sprays and other aerosol products en masse. The inventor of the aerosol spray can was blamed for the catastrophic destruction of the ozone layer, and CFC gases were virtually banned worldwide via the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. To this day, baby boomers avoid aerosol products more regularly than other generations.

Although ozone-killing CFCs were banned in the 1980s, studies have demonstrated that modern aerosol products still threaten human health. One study even records how cosmetologists, i.e. people who work with a lot of aerosol sprays, suffer higher rates of respiratory illness. Another study showed that even short-term exposure to aerosol products can temporarily affect breathing quality. Around 25% of baby boomers claim to avoid buying spray products entirely. It would appear they made the right call. 

But do aerosol products, which the baby boomers avoid, harm the environment? The answer is a bit complicated. It is true that most aerosol products contribute to the greenhouse gases building in our atmosphere, though their contribution isn't as great as that of the energy industry, for example. Each time you spray a blast of deodorant or hair spray, the compressed gases in the can are released to the atmosphere, and they're mostly greenhouse gases. Spray products also typically release a large quantity of volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, some of which may cause cancer. (In fact, harmful VOCs are why the "new car smell" is so potent.)

Avoidance of aerosol products isn't the only "green" boomer buying habit, either. It's estimated that around half of the baby boomer generation avoids certain ingredients and inspects nutrition labels. For example, baby boomers are prone to avoid certain environmentally destructive or unhealthy (and potentially obesity-causing) products like seed oils and high-fructose corn syrup. Such choices are part of the "clean living" lifestyles of many baby boomers. Yet, whatever their motivations may be, the "boomer consumers" have a powerful pull on the consumer market, and their simple choices can have profound effects on the planet.