A new study suggest when it comes to the electronics industry’s effort to be more environmentally friendly, the public isn’t buying. Literally.

The study, by the website Retrevo, which calls itself “the first matchmaker for people and electronics,” reports that fewer than half of U.S. consumers they surveyed said they have actually bought a “green” electronics product before. This, the company says, is in spite of 75 percent of consumers claiming that buying energy efficient products is important to them. The trend to greater "green consciousness" is one that the consumer electronics industry is citing as a growing factor in buying decisions, as we reported from this year's Consumer Electronics Show and at a recent Green Gadgets conference.

• 35 percent of survey respondents said they wouldn’t pay a premium for a green product.
• 40 percent think that companies are just using the green label to sell products without actually creating energy-efficient products.
• Only 13 percent trust green claims from manufacturers and retailers.

For more on buying green, be sure to check out GreenerChoices.org, as well as our recent blog posts on green electronics. — Nick K. Mandle