Buying into Change
A Look at Conscious Consumerism in America
By Ivan Cash - March, 2008
The Great Depression and World War II brought drastic changes to many aspects of everyday American life, consumerism being no exception. In A Consumer’s Republic, author Lizabeth Cohen (2003), explains that, “mass consumption in postwar America [was not] a personal indulgence, but rather a civic responsibility designed to provide ‘full employment and improved living standards for the rest of the nation’ ” (p. 113). While the large majority of Cohen’s book elaborates on the “Golden Era,” America’s embracement of mass consumption and the alleged dynamic benefits including equality, democracy, and greater freedom that came with it, the very last portion of her book addresses the decline of the consumer movement. Cohen (2003) claims, “From the 1930s to as late as the 1970s, to refer to the consumer interest was also to appeal to some larger public good beyond the individual’s self-interest, the ubiquitous invocation of the consumer today—as a patient, as parent, as social security recipient—often means satisfying the private interest of the paying customer, the combined consumer/citizen/taxpayer/votes whose greatest concern is, ‘Am I getting my money’s worth’” (p.391)?
While this last notion that consumers now buy exclusively for their own benefit rather than for the greater good indeed has merit, there also exists a significant demographic of American citizens who are awakened to, or are in the process of discovering, the importance of mindful, deliberate consumption for the benefit of humanity.
In response to the effects of globalization: the rising urgency of environmental issues such as peak oil, global warming, and overpopulation, combined with the prevalence of social troubles such as exploitation through sweatshops and the mistreatment of animals, a niche demographic of approximately 49 million Americans (23% of adult population) has adapted an altruistic mentality (Hugh Hough, 2007). These ‘awakening consumers,’ a term coined by the socially and environmentally progressive New York City advertising agency: Green Team, believe a brand's values are as important as its price and performance, and seek companies or stores whose core principles align with their own to benefit the public good (Hugh Hough, 2007). The significance of the conscious consumer is evident when examining the success of progressive companies, brands, products, and movements whose sustainable, ethical, and humanitarian values set them apart from the competition.
American Apparel, a Los Angeles based garment company who is noted for using non-sweatshop labor conditions to produce their renowned, logo-less, plain-looking clothing, has enjoyed sales that have doubled every year from 1999-2004 (Dov Charney, 2004). This accomplishment is undoubtedly linked to American Apparel’s unique stance of refusing to outsource and support sweatshops and their attentiveness in caring for employees, who earn almost double the minimum wage, have the opportunity to take English-language classes, as well as receive massages and subsidized lunches (Dov Charney, 2004). The companies’ concern for humanitarianism has them well poised for success, currently holding the title for largest t-shirt manufacturer in the United States, selling one million shirts per week (Dov Charney, 2004).
Americans seem to place an especially high value on world-improving items in the agricultural industry. Organic food, which is produced in accordance to a certain production standard that usually means being grown without harmful substances such as pesticides and artificial fertilizers, or being reared without the use of growth hormones in the case of animals, has considerably increased in popularity over the last few years. Many Americans are catching on to the concept that organic agriculture protects the health of both humans and the planet by reducing the overall exposure to toxic chemicals. Organic sales in the United States have become a $14 billion industry with double-digit growth expected in the next few years (Sara Wilson, 2006). Even the alcohol industry has seen the affects of the increased interest in organics, the organic beer industry having grown from $9 million in 2003 to $19 million in 2005 (Sara Wilson, 2006).
Fair-Trade, a market-based approach to alleviate global poverty and promote sustainability is another movement that has captured the interest of awakening consumers. Advocating fair compensation in areas related to the production of a wide variety of goods, it has caught on most with the coffee industry, which has gone from selling $300 million in Fair-Trade coffee in 2004, to $500 million in 2005 (Jeff Siegel, 2007). Today, more than 400 companies sell fair-trade coffee, including blockbuster corporations such as Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts (Jeff Siegel, 2007). From this example, it is clear that a conscious consumer demand for ethically managed coffee has led to the success of the Fair-Trade movement.
One further agricultural sensation whose success is owed to the awakened consumer demographic is the recent prominence of cage-free eggs in America. The eggs, which come from chickens raised in large, open barns instead of stacked, confined wire cages, have become the latest addition on menus at universities and at corporate cafeterias such as Google (Kim Severson, 2007). They’re exclusively featured in stores like Whole Foods, and even Burger King is beginning to purchase cage-free eggs (Kim Severson, 2007). Growing consumer concern with farm animal welfare, interest in sustainable agriculture, and an overall care for the greater good of the world, has led to the number of cage-free, egg-laying chickens in America to more than double in just a few years (Kim Severson, 2007).
There have also been a rising number of cause-related marketing initiatives in recent years, most notably (Product) RED. Teaming with many partner companies such as Gap, Apple, and Motorola, who create products with the (Product) RED logo, (Product) RED receives a percentage of the profit which is then given to a global fund to help combat AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. It’s a win-win model, as the parent companies also benefit from the opportunity of increasing revenue through the selected products they sell. Part of the (Product) RED motto includes, “As first world consumers, we have tremendous power. What we collectively choose to buy, or not to buy, can change the course of life and history on this planet.” This outlook immaculately aligns with the conscious consumer ideology; as a result, (Product) RED has raised over $100 million.
If any doubt still remains as to the prominence or influence of conscious American consumers, one need not look far. During an age when just about every company boasts of their sustainability, including a zero-waste commitment by Walmart; when countless publications, from Fortune and Wired, to Outdoor and Elle, have published ‘green’ issues; and when reducing carbon emissions is the ‘hot’ thing to do; it is very much apparent that the awakening consumer does in fact exist, is on the rise, and is a force to be reckoned with (Hough, 2007). To exemplify this sentiment, a new report from Greenbiz.com (March 8, 2008) states that “socially responsible investment assets grew more than 18 percent between 2005 and 2007, compared to a three percent growth rate for all other investment assets during the same period.”
The awakening consumer is indeed a prominent American demographic that deserves acknowledgement and respect. While almost all of these value-based brands, companies, products, and movements cost more than their value-deficient counterparts, conscious consumers are willing to exert additional finances based on the desire of changing the world to benefit humanity. The discovery that a powerful force for positive, worldwide and local, social and environmental change may just be Americans’ wallets is by no means the end-all, be-all solution. It is certainly, however, a step in the right direction.
References
Charney, Dov. (December, 2004). American Apparel Nominated by: SEAMS. Retrieved March 09, 2008, from http://www.americanapparel.net/presscenter/articles/20041200apparel.html
Cohen, Lizabeth. (2003). A Consumers’ Republic. New York: Random House
GreenBiz.com. (March 6, 2008). Socially Responsible Investment Assets Top $2.71T. Retrieved March 08, 2008, from http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=55687
Hough, Hugh. (October 22, 2007). Awake and Aware: Marketing to Values-Based Consumers. AdWeek
Siegel, Jeff. (May 21, 2007). Profits Continue to Rise in Fair Trade Sector. Retrieved March 07, 2008 from http://www.greenchipstocks.com/articles/chocolate-coffee-fair+trade/84
Severson, Kim. (August 12, 2007). Suddenly, the Hunt Is On for Cage-Free Eggs. The New York Times. Retrieved March 08, 2008 from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/12/us/12eggs.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print
Wilson, Sara. (November 17, 2006). Organic Foods on the Rise. Retrieved March 09, 2008 from http://www.entrepreneur.com/startingabusiness/businessideas/article170562.html