Dec. 3, 2007 This holiday season, many retailers are keeping their green initiatives under wraps in an effort to avoid alienating skittish shoppers.

Reuters reports that "amid fears that shoppers may clamp down on holiday spending in the wake of higher food and fuel prices, the slowing U.S housing market and the credit crunch, retailers are loath to do anything to turn off their clientele."

Wal-Mart stores, for example, posted no signage over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend highlighting the company's ambitious sustainability efforts.

Likewise, while Target sells eco-friendly items like organic cotton sheets and energy-efficient lighting, a spokewoman for the discount retailer says it is not incorporating a green message into this year's holiday marketing push.

Even outdoor clothier L.L. Bean, a company known for green practices, is playing it close to the (fleece) vest. Spokeswoman Laurie Brooks says that, despite retrofitting stores with energy-efficient lighting and converting its trucks to run on biodiesel fuel, L.L. Bean does not actively promote its environmental efforts to its customers.

"There are a lot of stories in the media about 'green,'" she says. "I think it really hasn't trickled down to the consumer level yet."

But a recent consumer survey paints a different picture. Deloitte's annual study of holiday shopping trends reports that 18% of respondents said they would purchase more eco-friendly products this holiday season than in the past, and 17% said they will shop at more green retailers.

Interestingly, higher-end retailers don't appear to share the concerns over spreading a green message. Upscale department store Barneys, for example, sent out its latest catalog with the words "Have a Green Holiday" featured prominently on the cover.