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Why do people purchase proenvironmental “green” products? We argue that buying such products can be construed as altruistic, since green products often cost more and are of lower quality than their conventional counterparts, but green goods benefit the environment for everyone. Because biologists have observed that altruism might function as a “costly signal” associated with status, we examined in 3 experiments how status motives influenced desire for green products. Activating status motives led people to choose green products over more luxurious nongreen products. Supporting the notion that altruism signals one’s willingness and ability to incur costs for others’ benefit, status motives increased desire for green products when shopping in public (but not private) and when green products cost more (but not less) than nongreen products. Findings suggest that status competition can be used to promote proenvironmental behavior.

A good reputation is more valuable than money.

—Publilius Syrus, 100 B.C.

Consider the following car: a compact sedan with a small trunk, standard cloth seats, excellent gas mileage, and a sluggish engine. It might not sound like much, but these features describe one of the most successful cars in recent U.S. history: the Toyota Prius, a small-statured automobile coveted across demographic categories. Why is the Prius is so successful?

One possibility is that the Prius is a hybrid gas–electric vehicle, meaning that it costs less to fuel. Yet it costs many thousands of dollars more to purchase the Prius than a conventional but highly fuel-efficient car such as the Honda Civic. Another possibility is that the Prius has lower emissions, making it more environmentally...