Shoppers add ethics to their list

Finding value for money is the main driver behind our everyday shopping choices, especially with the cost of living taking off. But many consumers are willing to pay more to support businesses with a strong social purpose, with one in five happy to commit more than 10% extra to their bill.

This is the core takeaway from the CommBank Consumer Insights Report, which identified fair employee practices, reduced plastic use, local community support, emissions reduction and data security as the top social causes Australians want to see businesses getting behind.

A third of the 5639 people surveyed said the pandemic had galvanised their resolve to make more deliberate shopping choices. But there remains scepticism around the true motivations of businesses claiming to be driven by purpose before profit – 55% of the those surveyed viewed these organisations as disingenuous.

So, how do you sort the purposeful wheat from the chaff?

As a starting point, you might look for B Corp certification.

This scheme, administered by notfor-profit organisation B Lab, assesses companies from numerous social and environmental angles, evaluating their performance every three years against improving standards.

Assessable factors include how transparent the company is with employees and customers, how the business is structured, how it works with its supply chain and how it sources and uses energy.

There are more than 4600

Certified B Corporations globally, with close to 400 based in Australia and New Zealand. Local names on the B Corp list include design company Koskela, clothing brand Outland Denim and 4 Pines Brewing Company.

People wanting to bank or invest with a B Corp can investigate institutions like Beyond Bank, Bank Australia, Future Super, Sharesies and Wattle Partners, among others.

If shoppers are keen to purchase with social purpose, they can look to guides like the Shop Ethical! app.

This provides a regularly updated social record of companies behind common bands that’s based on praise or criticism across a range of issues, helping consumers critique companies’ actions on a more granular level to see if they line up with their own values.