More About "TBD - Michael Shipe"

In their purchasing decisions, the average consumer is factoring in personal ideals along with price, quality, and availability. While consumers have always said they are concerned with the origin of the things they buy, it has only been recently that a significant number of consumers have demonstrated that they are willing to change their behavior and get products from companies that do not compromise on humanitarian and environmental values.

The fair trade movement is a good example. The fair trade market has grown by over 40% each year for the last five years. In 2007, the fair trade industry sold over $1 billion worth of products in the United States.

Research shows that consumers want to support corporations that are being good global citizens. It is actually quite staggering: “85% of consumers are willing to change brands…to make tomorrow's world a better place”; “78% like to buy brands that make a donation to worthy causes”; “70% of consumers say they would be prepared to pay more for a brand that supports a good cause,” and “71% of American consumers would purchase socially and environmentally responsible products if they were easy to find.”

Combining these studies with the 20.8 million fair trade shoppers demonstrates that today’s consumer cares about the planet and its people. This might explain why nearly 3,000 companies reported on their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in 2008, as opposed to just 26 reporting 16 years ago.

Corporations are recognizing that responsibility is no longer just a PR exercise. While it began with companies just trying to dodge humanitarian and environmental blunders, the attitude has emphatically changed to an opportunity for growth. As a matter of fact, 68% of business leaders are focusing on CSR activities to create new revenue streams according to a study by IBM. Nike said that they “see corporate responsibility as a catalyst for growth…” and Lee Scott, CEO of Wal-Mart said, “Sustainability 360 takes in our entire company – our customer base, our supplier base, our associates, the products on our shelves, the communities we serve. And we believe every business can look at sustainability in this way. In fact, in light of current environmental trends, we believe they will and soon.”

Big companies have always had large marketing budgets, and have used them to strengthen and increase their market share. Now, the market has made significant movement toward humanitarian and environmental responsibility and companies are scrambling to send the message: “We’re responsible, buy from us.”

With 7% of the US population seeing the benefits of fair trade and 85% wanting their purchases to better the world, there is a real opportunity to promote responsible companies by informing shoppers of which companies are showing leadership in responsibility. Consumers get to shop with their conscience, companies get a return on their responsibility investments by differentiating themselves, and the world becomes a better place.