The Colors of Money Makers? Ask the Experts

This time next year we’ll be driving tarpon green cars and eating off dishware the color of Cajun spice. So predict the titans of tint at the Color Marketing Group, an Alexandria, Va.-based trade association that for 35 years has sought to bring order to the chaotic chromatic world. The 1,500-member association includes in-house colorists at Fortune 500 companies, as well as independent color consultants whose clients include Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Ford Motor Co. and Igloo Products Corp. CMG brought us avocado refrigerators in the late 1960s and teal automobiles in the 1990s. Now its members are predicting a consumer palette of 1970s-style earth tones, but with a new-era twist. This color forecast, as CMG calls it, is based on emerging economic and social trends. A strong economy has made consumers more daring and willing to experiment with new, bright colors, CMG says.