After bottoming out during the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, the perception of conscious consumerism has ascended to new heights in recent years. On the surface the statistics are headed in the right direction. The majority of Americans believe it is important to support socially responsible products and services, and the majority have done so in the past year. Additionally, roughly a third of the country plans to spend more with such brands in the year ahead. 

But while the headlines suggest a cause for celebration for people selling to conscious consumers, the underlying data in the results from our agency’s annual Conscious Consumer Spending Index tell more of a cautionary tale. 

Despite seeing a steady rise in socially responsible spending (three of our Index’s top scores in its 12 years have occurred within the last four years), one of the more concerning findings this time around was an all-time low in success rate for Americans in terms of following through on their intentions to support socially responsible brands. 

The big culprit for this disconnect? Price.

It is easy to find research that affirms that consumers prefer to shop locally and........

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