Conflicting claims may hit ethical choices
Conflicting claims may be making us give up on socially responsible spending
Voting with our dollars used to be simple.
If we wanted the farmers behind our morning cup of coffee to earn a living wage, there was one logo to look for: fair trade. Now, there are hundreds of certifications on everything from tuna to office furniture.
Options to do good have skyrocketed, but the number of consumers making ethical choices has stalled. That’s the take-away from a recent study on socially responsible spending.
For the third straight year, the Conscious Consumer Spending Index found a decline in the number of Americans purchasing from socially responsible companies. The percentage who believe their daily choices can effect change also dropped. (Data for Canada is harder to come by, although we tend to follow similar consumer trends.)
This doesn’t add up with stated beliefs. Every demographic, from generation Z to baby boomers, report a willingness to pay more for products that align with their values. Even with good intentions, cost is a factor — in the same study, half of millennials said socially responsible products are too expensive. Other studies show consumers have a low ceiling on the premium they’ll pay for sustainability initiatives.
I’m not sure that pricey products alone can be blamed for a decline in responsible spending. Consumers could also be suffering from too much white noise.
While companies champion the ethical upsides of their products, shoppers in the age of transparency understand that business is complicated, often with sprawling supply chains and countless moving parts.
People say they want to do the right thing, and I believe them. It’s getting harder to figure out what that is when every solution seems to come with problems of its own.
A trip to the dairy aisle for a sustainable option offers a compelling example. Organic milk, long touted as good for the body and planet, creates a hefty carbon footprint, but greenhouse gases aren’t the only things to consider. Almond trees guzzle water in drought-stricken California and production wreaks havoc on bee populations. Coconut farmers in the Philippines, Indonesia and India are often paid less than a dollar a day.
Ill-defined marketing terms like “all natural,” “artisanal” and “sustainable” make it even more difficult to tell impact from sales tactics. Regardless, this is the market shift we need.
Our choices became more complicated because of consumer demand. We can’t withhold real spending power now that social responsibility is turning mainstream. Next, companies must cut through the noise of marketing language and offer real transparency, not just for products, but for business practices. Consumers, meanwhile, can’t give up on small actions just because it’s overwhelming to consider the bigger picture. Digital tools Good On You and Donegood help sort brands by values so we can slowly shift our spending.
Having co-founded a charity, I’ve spent most of my life convincing people that small actions amount to big change. Lately, that task has become more difficult, as both the problems and actions grow increasingly complex.
Let’s not make “perfect” the enemy of “good.” With some research and dedication, we can push companies toward largescale change until social responsibility is the only option left. Craig Kielburger is co-founder of the WE Movement, which includes WE Charity, ME to WE Social Enterprise and WE Day.