Social Responsibility’s Sway

A little over a week ago, I put forth the notion that a given company’s level of social responsibility—which can include environmental, social and economic sustainability, among other factors—will likely have an increasingly profound effect on consumers’ food purchases.

Along those lines, I ran across a Brandweek story the other day that aligns some data from the Natural Marketing Institute (NMI) Lifestyles of Health & Sustainability (LOHAS) Consumer Trends Database on how such factors like corporate responsibility might potentially affect consumers’ buying decisions.

In the article, NMI notes that its research shows 60% of U.S. consumers over the age of 18 report that “knowing a company is mindful of its impact on the environment and society makes me more likely to buy their products and services.” Other notable figures from NMI’s survey include:

• Well over half (57%) of consumers said they feel increased loyalty to socially responsible companies, and about half (52%) said they were more likely to talk to their friends and families about such companies.
• More than a third (38%) said they’d be willing to pay extra for products from socially responsible companies and about a third (35%) said they were more likely to buy stock in such companies.

I have a distinct feeling that this is just the tip of the iceberg, and that business is trending along socially responsible angles in a big way. Perhaps it’s time to shake those skeletons out of the closet and climb aboard that shiny-green, do-gooder bandwagon—obviously for more reasons than one.