What if all this money were used in support of causes that not only meet our individual needs but also help combat some of the social and environmental problems hovering on the horizon? More and more, that is becoming the case.
From clean energy to Fair Trade to farmers' markets, socially and ecologically responsible alternatives are increasingly gaining popularity in the United States. "People are understanding there's a connection between what they eat, what they wear, and the health of the planet," says Denise Hamler, Director of Co-op America's Business Network, which promotes sustainable business practices.
Collectively referred to as the "Green Economy," an alternative model of economic activity that incorporates these social and environmental concerns is finally moving into the mainstream. "Many of these industries are at the tipping point. ... Once you give people easy access to the right choices, they make them, over and over again," says Hamler, who has worked in the field since the 1970s. "It's phenomenal how much progress we've seen."
Fair Trade
Fair Trade is an obvious way to harness consumer spending-power in the service of ethical and environmentally sound production practices. In contrast to conventional "free trade" that is driven purely by profit, Fair Trade focuses on establishing a sustainable, balanced relationship between buyers and sellers and guarantees a living wage to participating producers.
The number of people turning to Fair Trade is on the rise. The Fair Trade Federation's "2005 Report: Fair Trade Trends in North America and the Pacific Rim," shows that total sales increased by 52% from 2002 to 2003. This comes on the heels of a 44% increase the year before, and estimates for 2004 show even further growth. In addition to gross sales, the number of Fair Trade goods available and companies selling them are increasing as well.
Clean Energy
As spiraling oil costs and ecological destruction grab front-page headlines, alternatives to unsustainable energy consumption have been gaining ground behind the scenes. "There are a lot more corporations that are tuning into the benefits of green power purchasing," says Tim Herzog, who has worked with the World Resources Institute since 2000, encouraging big corporations to buy large blocks of clean power.
If the environmental reasons for turning to clean, renewable energy are not enough, their cost-effectiveness alone is persuasive. "Conventional energy supplies are getting more expensive," explains Ron Pernick, co-founder of the research firm Clean Edge. "Whether you look at natural gas, nuclear, or oil, they've been going up over time, not going down—which is the inverse of renewable energies. We're getting to a point where we're able to compete in price so clean energy makes sense economically."
Solar photovoltaic (PV) installations rose by 62% last year worldwide, according to Solarbuzz, a solar energy research and consulting firm. The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) predicts record growth in wind energy this year, and it is already the fastest growing power source. Clean Edge's "Clean Energy Trends 2005" predicts more than 600% growth in solar, wind, and fuel cell markets in the next ten years.
Local Self-Reliance
Supporting local businesses is another way to cut down on fuel consumption, because buying locally produced goods reduces the need to ship goods from thousands of miles away, and also cuts down on the distances shoppers travel. Local businesses help local economies in other ways as well; several studies have shown that substantially more of the money spent in locally-owned stores than chain stores stays in the community, because local businesses utilize local ads, banks, services and employees.
"We've seen this explosion of things like buy local campaigns, farmers' markets, small-scale energy production—in every sector we've seen people at the grassroots working to localize economies," says Stacy Mitchell, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Local Self Reliance (ILSR).
The ILSR has been working for more than thirty years to promote self-sustaining community development that utilizes local resources as an antidote large-scale development. "For a long time there was this feeling that these big companies were going to come to your town and create these jobs and economic prosperity. But that's not what happened. We saw examples where people actually lost jobs. There's this sense that you can't count on the global corporate economy anymore—it doesn't operate in our interest," Mitchell says.
Trends in various areas indicate a movement toward localization. The USDA's National Directory of Farmers' Markets has demonstrated growth every year since its inception in 1994. According to the Community Investing Center, from 2001-2003 there was an 84% increase in the community investment industry. The Business Alliance for Local Living Economies was founded in 2001 to help establish local networks of small, independent companies whose members could work together to keep business local. A year later the group had grown to 4,000 members distributed over twenty different networks.
The Challenges and Opportunities Ahead
Though growth rates in the Green Economy may be high, phenomena such as Fair Trade and clean energy are quite small in absolute terms compared to "free trade" and fossil fuels. And the federal government is doing little, if anything, to address these issues. Instead they are negotiating more "free trade" agreements, leaving large corporation largely unregulated, and continuing to roll back protective environmental legislation.
Meanwhile, even people who support various sectors of the Green Economy rarely look at it comprehensively, usually focusing on one issue or another rather than promoting the Green Economy as a diverse and interconnected set of movements.
A positive step toward consolidating support for the Green Economy is the number of conferences and conventions schedule in the next few months. In early September the Fair Trade Futures Conference will take place in Chicago to bring together Fair Trade buyers, sellers, and activists. Co-op America is holding a Green Business Conference in early November in San Francisco. The biggest events by far are Global Exchange and Co-op America's annual Green Festivals in Washington, D.C. in September and San Francisco in November. These festivals draw tens of thousands of participants from all sectors and industries for two days of showcasing, networking, and strategizing. And they're fun too. In the words of Denise Hamler, "it's a celebration of what's working in our communities."