Purchasing for Sustainability:
Young Consumers in the Green Marketplace
by Beth Ginsberg

Where We're At

Groups like Danone are not alone. Consumers and businesses are increasingly realizing that the planet cannot continue to support itself (and us) at current consumption rates. Sustainability is meeting present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It embodies environmental, social, cultural and economic aspects of society. Unfortunately, consumers in our current society don't use manmade products or natural resources in a sustainable manner.

For instance, today, 20% of the world's population consumes 86% of material goods, and the poorest 20% only consumes 1.3% of goods. Almost half the world's people live at the poverty level or below, living on less than $2 per day. Americans play a significant role in the gap between the “haves” and “have-nots” and increasing consumption patterns. According to Redefining Progress, ( www.rprogress.org ) a progressive nonprofit based in San Francisco that analyzes public policies and the economy, i f everyone on Earth consumed as much as the average American, we would need at least four more planets to provide resources and absorb resulting waste. Yet that is where global consumption trends are going with increasing globalization and integration. As Americans consume more fuel, aluminum, energy, paper, and meat per capita than any other society on the planet, we're realizing that these trends add up !

For the planet to continue to support itself ecologically as well as human activities, we all need to decrease our overly consumer lifestyles- everything from not replacing that cell phone before it dies, to refashioning clothes rather than buying new, to composting food waste rather than dumping it in a plastic garbage bag. We must begin to incorporate this thinking into our everyday activities, purchases, and investments. Youth and business are crucial to accomplishing this goal.

Making the Business Case

No matter where you live and what your typical activities are, some type of consumption is necessary to keep the local (and global) economy humming. And, who's to say that all consumption is bad? As President of the Center for a New American Dream ( www.newdream.org ) Betsy Taylor says, material goods have a place in “the good life” as they provide comfort, leisure, and serve various real needs like having food, shelter, clothing, and healthcare. There are, in fact, many ways that we can meet basic needs while simultaneously reducing current consumption rates and still enjoy luxuries like MP3 players, high top sneakers, portable wireless organizers, and other 21 st century items.

Businesses are leading the way to create products that are completely recyclable, compostable, and environmentally effective- and they're already introducing these products into the marketplace. Consumer demand and competitive advantage are the forces driving this phenomenon, as corporate accountability and sustainability often result in cost-savings and other benefits. For example, 3M's Pollution Prevention Pays program ( www.3m.com ) saved the company more than $700 million since the 1970s due to p roduct reformulation, process modification, equipment redesign, and recycling and reuse of waste materials.

As more businesses realize that sustainability provides a competitive advantage, companies are increasingly becoming accountable for their actions and products. They're going beyond the typical pollution control and regulation. They're, instead, re-conceptualizing products and manufacturing processes from scratch to “leapfrog” over inefficiencies that produced environmental and social harms and unsustainable consumption patterns to begin with. They're also incorporating accountability and transparency into their missions, production processes, and operations. Sustainable governance and environmental reporting are increasing, thanks to the efforts of organizations like the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES) www.ceres.org , a Boston based organization that creates meaningful dialogue on environmental and social practices with investor and advocacy groups.

While business leaders have proved that it's profitable in the long-run to create sustainable products, operations, and management strategies, most companies are still profiting from the all too familiar practices of environmental and social exploitation. Just look at the thousands of companies moving offshore so they can save money on labor and resources, often to the detriment of local people or the environment. Unless corporations are willing to make their supply chains, production processes, and overall corporate visions sustainable on social, economic, and environmental levels, sustainable products will not enter the marketplace until there is demand for them. And that's where you come in. While some businesses are voluntarily working on these initiatives, consumers—and especially audiences that businesses respond to most, like youth—need to speak up. With more people demanding sustainable products, business will ultimately respond to consumer values or they will end up forfeiting profits.

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