Coruscation

Avoid evoking past stereotypes of green products with references to "the planets, the babies and the daisies," said Jacquelyn A. Ottman, a New York-based advertising consultant and the author of the 2011 book "The New Rules of Green Marketing" (Berrett-Koehler).

Many such products, she said, carry perceptions that they are more expensive or don't perform as well and may not even be that green. Ms. Ottman therefore cautions against pigeonholing consumer goods as merely virtuous. "Green is the icing on the cake," she says. "It's a source of added value, but it can't replace the benefits that consumers expect from the products that they buy."

She recalled how an early efficiency pioneer, Whirlpool's Energy Wise refrigerator, "died on the vine" in 1994 after consumers balked at the higher price and a lack of choice in features and styles, which created the impression that buying one entailed a sacrifice.

By contrast, the company's sharply styled and highly efficient Duet front-load washer, introduced in 2001, won far broader acceptance after reviews flowed in that the machine allowed a large capacity, washed more thoroughly than a top-loader and was gentler on clothes.

Because it may take a while for upfront costs of a green appliance to be recouped through increased energy efficiency, many consumers are unwilling to pay a "green premium." In the aggregate, though, the energy savings for the community and the nation can add up quickly, creating a strong incentive for local governments, utilities and environmental organizations to promote their use.

Among the latter is the nonprofit Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, supported by utilities serving about 12 million consumers in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. It says that a regionwide shift to high-efficiency televisions could yield enough energy savings to power more than 290,000 homes each year.