A leading water saving expert has blasted kbb retailers who dismiss eco products as inadequate and unsellable.

In reponse to comment made by retailer, Derek Miller of Scope Bathrooms, Glasgow, Jacob Tompkins (shown), managing director of non-government advisory service Waterwise - during a recent interview with kbbreview - accused Miller of being “ridiculously outdated” in his opinion of water-saving products.

Miller, managing director of Scope Bathrooms and regular contributor to kbbreview, recently spoke out against water-saving products, saying that consumers care little about the issue, that the products don’t live up to the performance of more luxurious options and that manufacturers should do no more than they currently are to create products of this nature for the retail market.

Tompkins described Miller’s comments as “five to 10 years out of date” and claimed the exact opposite is true of eco-friendly, water-saving products. He said that manufacturers all over the world are now embracing innovations that help save water and that that the product does sell well, otherwise manufacturers wouldn’t make it and retailers wouldn’t stock it.

However, Miller in his experience as a retailer, insisted: “Environmental campaigners badger consumers into saving water. I have never had a single customer in the showroom asking for a water-efficient bathroom product.”

Miller also argued that manufacturers only care about the bottom line and not about environmental issues, saying that manufacturers merely wish to jump on an eco-bandwagon. Tompkins countered this by saying that efficiency is good for everyone. “It’s beneficial for the retailer and the consumer,” he said, “and it’s beneficial for the manufacturer and the environment. Who wouldn’t want that?”

Tompkins insisted that although many retailers and consumers are still sceptical, many now embrace water-saving products and said the key lies in educating retailers on how to sell them, even suggesting that add-ons could be sold as part of an eco-package. “They need to see this as an additional selling point,” he said. “And they can speak to the manufacturers. I know they’d be happy to educate them and provide sales support and so on because I’ve seen it.

“These products offer retailers like Miller an opportunity. There are plenty of retailers that have the exact opposite viewpoint from his and they are making money.”

See the full interviews with both Miller and Tompkins in the September issue of kbbreview

Let us know what you think. Email the editor: tim@kbbreview.com