Past Insights

Over the course of the past decade, the movements focused on corporate social responsibility, sustainability, social innovation, cause-related marketing, micro-lending, buy-local, Fair Trade, impact investing and social entrepreneurship have grown at an astounding rate.

Here are the numbers compiled with the help of Dara O’Rourke, founder of the GoodGuide.

• Ethical personal-care products grew from $5.3 billion in 2005 to $8.1 billion in 2009, up 53%.

• U.S. organic food sales rose from $12.6 billion in 2005 to $21.4 billion in 2009, up 70%.

• Sales of local food, which travels less than 150 miles from source to table, rose from $4 billion in 2002 to $7 billion in 2011, up 75%.

• In 1994 there were 1,755 farmers’ markets, by 2010 there were 6,132, up 250%.

• In 1992, 935,000 acres of U.S. farmland were planted with organics, rising to 4,800,000 acres in 2008, up 413%.

• In Europe sales of Fair Trade–certified products grew from €220 million in 2000 to €3.4 billion in 2010, up 1,400%.

• The U.S. LOHAS market (lifestyle of health and sustainability) of products is estimated at more than $200 billion.

That’s impressive growth – and it wouldn’t have happened without consumers making a choice.

Major corporations have watched this growth closely:

• Toyota Prius sales rose from 3,000 cars in 1997 to more than 400,000 in 2010.

• Whole Foods sales grew from $90 million across ten stores in 1991 to $9 billion across 300 stores in 2010.

• Kashi cereal, owned by Kellogg grew from $25 million in 2000 to almost $1 billion in 2011.

• Global alternative energy deals climbed 40% from 2010 to 2011 to $53.5 billion.

Is this growth reason to be hopeful? What do you think? Leave a comment with your thoughts.