Social Impacts

The Green Earth Market is an online retailer of environmentally friendly goods which entered the retail industry officially in 2006. This retailer sells products for babies/toddlers, books, candles, fragrances, diffusers, clothing, bags and accessories, home and office supplies, jewelry, and gifts and seasonal goods that are “high quality and better for the environment.” Those products must meet a criteria established by the company stating that those products be: produced in North America, of natural, organic or recycled materials, from Fair Trade sources, or benefiting disadvantaged groups, are energy efficient, encourage re-use and/or discourage use of disposables that create waste, and/or are closest to these criteria of the products available to the company.   

The Green Earth Market has not been highly publicized in the news, but it should. What this company offers touches on so many social issues that it may impact the industry with its growth.

As a society we are becoming more responsive to environmental issues and with the recession we are recovering from, issues of social responsibility and ethics within the business world. More and more, companies are revising or even creating policies that address the responsibilities a company must incur to manage or correct for externalities not only facing the consumer but the physical environment as well. For the Green Earth Market to emerge when it did, as possibly more have, represents a push from this social movement in order to influence more change in the lifestyles of the public.

I admire a few things about how the Green Earth Market runs its business. It provides lists of environmentally-friendly products but also the manufacturers that produce them on the website. Market is spreading the word that there are many companies in the business of improving the health of our environment. How this company deals with being socially responsible is also mentioned in its mission statement, but implicitly. Green Earth Market runs as a Christian based business. Just following the principles of the religion promotes honest service, a point it explicitly states. To expand upon this point, the owner is also reaching out to a specific community creating a closer relationship of the issue at hand, improving the environment, with already set ideals, another way to enhance the impact of the social movement.

To address how the competitive landscape of the retail industry has changed, marketing with making a social impact in mind has become a competitive advantage for most companies. To distinguish itself from others by offering a “higher” level of quality, quality that gives back, is in effect a tool to manipulate market demand now. This may mean going against the economic decision rule, making the decision that garners the most benefit, but this investment may in turn increase future profits, send the right message, while improve the quality of our lives so much more.

Written by

Leya Abebe

Contributing info found on:
www.greenearthmarket.com