World Economic Forum: Sustainability is now mission critical for businesses.

“Can I afford to buy organic, go sustainable or shop Fair Trade?”

We have all often stood in front of store shelves asking ourselves this question. Threats from climate change, growing inequality and poor working conditions, and other mounting pressures on people and planet tell us that we can’t afford not to.

But with high markups on many ethical and sustainable goods it is clear that our markets, systems and supply chains are not optimized in favour of the consumer. The right choice is often not the easy choice.

Imagine instead a world in which you pay a premium for those products that are damaging to the health of our communities, workers and the environment. A vibrant sustainable market aligns economic and financial incentives, standards and regulations to promote universal access to a generous inventory of affordable and sustainable products.

This is entirely possible.

In 2015, polling group Nielsen surveyed 30,000 people in 60 countries around the world. They wanted to know what influences the way consumers feel about brands – and how those feelings impact buying behaviour.