Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Conscious Goods Alliance

Walking down Hudson Street in the West Village last night, it was hard to miss this giant bus that runs on veggie oil:

After doing some digging, I discovered that the Conscious Goods Alliance is a non-profit organization, based out of my hometown of Miami, FL. They have a very basic, but extremely powerful message:

You have the power. It’s in your wallet. Every time you buy a product from a company that does the right thing for people and planet, you’re sending a powerful message: continue doing right, and you will profit. Every time you buy something from a company that does the wrong things for people and planet, you send a very different message: go ahead and shortchange social responsibility for the almighty dollar, we don’t care.

It’s pretty simple. You vote each day with your dollars. You send a message. You create positive change.

Their goal, as stated on their website is:

Our goal is to build an unstoppable movement of conscious consumers that, by choosing the right products, motivates more companies to adopt a triple bottom line approach; one that values the social and ecological bottom line as well as the financial bottom line.
Their message is something we touch on often here at Advocate of Green. Most companies won't make a change to the way they do business unless it affects their bottom line. Making educated, informed buying decisions is the best way to hit them where it hurts! Make sure if a company isn't behaving in the way you feel lines up with your social and ethical values to 1) tell them: email, letter, phone...anyway you can get the message out and 2) Buy the same product made by a more responsible company.

I leave you with a video news clip on the Conscious Goods Alliance:

2 comments:

Sarah Elizabeth Foster said...

The amazing thing is that when a company stops making money in a certain sector or a certain product they can act extremely quickly to correct the situation. (Unlike our government!)

They have stockholders to answer to, and if they tell their stockholders that they're not making money because customers are upset about their practices, you can bet your bottom dollar they will change those practices ASAP!

This is the great thing about capitalism!

Unknown said...

Hi Danielle,

Sorry for the comment post, but I couldn’t find your email contact info on your blog. The Conscious Goods Alliance is right. We, as consumers, must put our money where our mouths are and support environmentally responsible businesses! I work with ShoreBank, an environmentally and socially responsible bank that is dedicated to protecting the environment and improving our communities. Right now, Shore Bank is offering 3.5% APY on their online high-yield savings account, and each person that funds an account with $500 or more will receive a sustainable canteen.

Saving with ShoreBank offers amazing value because ShoreBank offers a competitive rate, and you get the satisfaction of knowing that your money is being invested in environmentally sound, profitable and socially responsible projects. And because ShoreBank has been in business for over 35 years, has more than $2.2 billion in assets, and is backed by the full faith and credit of the FDIC, you can also rest easy knowing your money is secure.

You can find more information about ShoreBank, including loan success stories, press coverage, video and audio content, images and more at http://www.swirlspace.net/shorebankdirect/index.php.

When you invest in ShoreBank, you help fund companies like Indie Energy, an energy company in Chicago using geothermal energy to provide green energy to customers and increase green employment opportunities: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OcQ7nfH9EE.

If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to contact me at tracy@swirl.net.

Thanks for your time,

Tracy Fischer
Outreach Manager - Swirl
tracy@swirl.net