February 18, 2004
The Market For Health
A friend forwarded a link to a WSJ article on what they described as politically correct grocery shopping:
...In the next couple of weeks, pineapples, mangos and grapes bearing "Fair Trade Certified" stickers will start hitting scores of supermarkets nationwide, part of a broader movement to make shoppers feel good about themselves and the food they are buying. The labels mean that workers in poor countries received higher-than-usual wages and other benefits. Along with other new buzzwords such as "certified sustainable" and "responsibly traded," Fair Trade Certified food products are being embraced with surprising speed by some of the nation's biggest food marketers -- and not just the alternative natural food stores. Last fall, Dunkin' Donuts rolled out Fair Trade Certified coffee; Starbucks sells it, too.
...It's all part of a move to cater to the growing niche of shoppers willing to spend more money for products that let them feel they are acting in a socially responsible fashion. There's even a name for these people, "LOHAS" consumers, which stands for "lifestyles of health and sustainability," a term coined to describe the popularity of products tied to interests such as yoga, organic food and products that espouse social consciousness. Last year about 32% of U.S. consumers qualified as LOHAS, according to the Natural Marketing Institute, a health-products consulting firm in Harleysville, Pa., meaning they were "significantly" motivated in their purchases by concern for their health and the environment. That number was up from 30% the previous year. ...
I guess this means that if you were planning on starting an organic farm any time in the near future, there might just be money in it.
Posted by natasha at February 18, 2004 05:02 AM | TrackBack