Nuts. Proof of Consumer Power

If you ever wonder if your 'conscious consumer' purchasing choices have any impact on manufacturers and the market place just take a look at the peanut.

Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons and theories, the number of children severely allergic to nuts has risen dramatically over the past few decades. As a result, most schools and child centred gatherings are nut free. This has affected every one's purchasing and consumption habits. Even though my son is not allergic to nuts, I do not put nut products in his school lunches.

An identifiable result of this shift in consumer behaviour is the emergence and promotion of 'nut free' products. To do this has required not only a potential alteration of ingredients, but even more significantly a shift in the manufacturing process itself where there is a product line exclusively for nut free production.

The motivation and justification for this expense was not government grants or the desire to be environmentally friendly, but the hard core reality of economics. It had to be done to sell the product. The power of the consumer.

Now, imagine if a similar shift in consumer behaviour occurred in response to items with excessive packaging or poor working conditions or environmentally corrosive manufacturing processes. I expect that within a relatively short time, the manufacturers would alter their practices to match the consumer demand.

The challenge is that unlike the nut issue, where the problem is clear and singular, the conscious consumer base is more disparate. I might purchase product A because of their fair trade practices, whereas another consumer might purchase the competitive product B because of their environmentally friendly manufacturing process.

As a result of this disparate consumer base, it might take longer for the manufacturers to be sufficiently motivated to justify the expense of the change. However if you look, you will begin to see the impact of the conscious consumer in the form of products with a fair trade logo; the response from GAP about the questionable working conditions of one of their suppliers; the growth of alternative materials such as bamboo and organic cotton.

The key to keep this momentum growing is to reward manufacturers and suppliers in the only way that really counts, by choosing their product over the competition. Consumers have the ultimate power, the proof is in the peanut!