Emissions abatement. Climate positivity. Circularity. Net-zero. Carbon offsets. Blockchain. Ethical sourcing. Bio-based materials.
The word “sustainability” encompasses so much that -as a simple definition- it’s at risk of losing its impact.
Though it’s hard for us to get our arms around this topic, there is one thing that is no longer in question: today’s buyer is more conscientious about their spending, more attuned to the impact of their buying habits on the planet, and more passionate about social responsibility than ever before.
Over the past few weeks, I have been having discussions with industry leaders in sustainability, in preparation for our Product Summit (launched today). In one conversation, Kathy Cheng with Redwood Classics Apparel said to me that we should simplify this big topic and keep in mind that we’re talking about conscious consumption, or simply, being a more conscientious buyer/seller.
Further, she said that the sustainability topic falls under a bigger conversation around being intentional with how our businesses impact both our world-at-large and our communities at home. Diversity. Gender equality. Race. Climate change. Fairtrade. Labor. These topics are no longer fringe topics relegated to a small segment of our society and therefore easy for businesses to brush aside in the name of profit, these issues are now mainstream.
You can see this rise peak through one very important window of our world: how we search. Search results are a window into the mind of our culture. Search indicates what people are thinking about and how they are thinking about it.
According to Google’s search trends report in 2020, “how to change the world” was searched twice as much as “how to go back to normal.”
Topics like ableism, how to stop climate change, how to support small businesses, how to support black-owned businesses (and more), doubled over previous years. “Gender neutrality” saw a 20% increase. And the world searched the phrase “how to help” more than ever: How to help Australia fires, Black Lives Matter, how to help during coronavirus, how to help Beirut.
For years, we’ve heard about the rise of the “conscientious consumer” and now that millennials and gen z comprise nearly half of all spending, it’s safe to say that the rise has plateaued into a new normalcy: buyers today expect us to lead our businesses in ways that positively impact our climate and our culture.
The shift is no longer anti, meaning, in the past, when it came to social causes, consumers voted with their dollars largely by withholding their spending, boycotting businesses who denigrated the planet paid unfair wages, or marginalized communities.
Now, the shift has turned pro: consumers are proactively shifting their spending in support of businesses who support their communities, celebrate diversity, and protect the environment. And make no mistake, “consumers” are no longer distinct from B2B buyers anymore, and millennials are between the ages of 25 and 40 (ie, your buyers). B2B and B2C are the same person and will vote (spend) in support of businesses they love and respect.
Suppliers: Do you have a story worth sharing about how you are impacting your communities? How about the changes you have made to impact sustainability? As important: Are you sharing your story about what you are doing with your distributor customers? Buyers today want more transparency into the supply chain and you are doing good work, you might just need to get better at sharing that story with the world. Share the stories of the impact you are making on your planet and in your community in a way that’s easily digestible and passed on by distributors to their customers. Make it an important part of your selling process, because buyers care as much about who they are buying from as what they are buying.
Distributors: Do you know the social causes your clients’ support? Are you helping your clients tell their stories about their impact on their world and communities? You play an important role in the storytelling process by creating campaigns that honor and celebrate brands and their mission, but are you providing that service holistically to encompass the whole story? And how are you changing your world and your community? Do you select supplier partners based on their mission and not just their product? In what ways do you support your communities and are you sharing that part of your story with your customers?
The opposite of conscientious buying is mindless buying, mindlessly doing the same thing we’ve always done: selling and buying with no regard for how the micro-decisions in our day-to-day impacts the lives of others. It’s this attitude we hope to change by bringing together some of the industry’s brightest thinkers in the area of sustainability and social impact.
Join us for our first-ever Product Summit, a virtual experience focused on sustainability, Tuesday, June 22nd from 2 pm - 5:30 pm ET. Our ambition is bold and that is to shift our role as an industry from merely reacting to client demand (reacting to sustainability trends) and instead, positively and proactively leading our clients and our world, one idea, conversation, and one product at a time.
