Note from Art: this is a guest post from the authors of: The Purpose Revolution: How Leaders Create Engagement and Competitive Advantage in an Age of Social Good. 

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What goes through our minds when we push the grocery cart? Hunger? Boredom? Mentally planning a quick evening meal so we can rush off to yoga? We’ll tick yes to all of the above.

Most of us shop a few times a week for the ordinary things we need to keep us alive and living effectively in a changing world. Groceries. Clothing. Personal care items. Cleaning supplies. Maybe the labels have changed, but these are essentially the same core things our parents bought when we were growing up. What’s different? We are! Today we are consumers with purpose. In our book, The Purpose Revolution, we discuss that our parents shopped with quality and price in mind, but today an increasing percentage of us are wanting to buy from companies that we feel good about. We want to shop with less guilt about the impact our purchases have on society and the planet, and we want to leverage our choices for good causes if we can. Recent research shows that about 34% of global consumers regularly reward good companies with their business and punish those they perceive to do harm. Turns out it’s really easy to shop with purpose.

Each person has a unique sense of purpose and we live out our purpose when we act in ways that are meaningful. The Japanese have a word for having a sense of purpose: ikiagi, which is similar to the French raison d’être, or “reason for being”. In the Japanese tradition, finding your sense of purpose takes a deep and lengthy personal search. For most of us, there is no spirit journey required, but our purpose impacts how we spend our time – at work and in our personal lives. Do we serve others and support causes that help underserved populations? Do we encourage others and get behind inspired causes that increase creativity and innovation? Do we act with kindness and care how others are treated? Do we devote a part of our lives to a spiritual practice? Do we live a green lifestyle and tread lightly upon the earth? Just like a web, almost everything we do- and everything we buy – stems from our inner purpose.

And now more than ever, we’re creating change through our buying habits. A recent study identifies our consumer group as one which shops with purpose and calls us the Aspirationals. We make up 40 percent of the global public, and are the largest and most significant consumer group in the world– a group that includes most Millennials and Gen-Xers, and a large number of Baby Boomers today. Marketing experts say we have a unique mindset that is different from previous generations because we combine several things: a love of style, shopping, and a desire for socially responsible things. This is us: we’re shoppers who love the good life and embrace trying new products as part of our life experience journey.

Because we are focused on purpose, a growing number of companies are listening. Great companies such as Seventh Generation, Ben & Jerry’s, Heineken and Patagonia are working hard to change the way they operate – because we want them to be stellar. And when we speak with our wallets, companies are listening and making deeper commitments to how they source materials, how they produce goods, and what they do with waste from production and consumer packaging. And they are more dedicated than ever to the working conditions and living standards of their employees in every country, because we care about global labour practices.

While we only get to cast a vote every few years, every day we have a chance to express our purpose through our purchases. So make sure the companies you support are doing their part to create a better world. We like to investigate companies first by checking to see if they are members of Sustainable Brands, the world’s leaders in environmental and social innovation since you have to meet certain criteria to be a member. We also check company websites to see what they are doing to reduce environmental impact and increase health and livability for their workers. Top companies, such as Unilever, publish annual Sustainability and Diversity and Inclusion reports that will tell you what initiatives they are taking and what impact they are making.

We personally love the idea that we can live our purpose every day, not only in our lives and career, but can extend that purpose through the choices of who we buy from and those we don’t buy from. We’re optimistic that if we follow our purpose, we’ll support a growing number of companies which are creating social good. So let’s engage from the heart and make sure we are making a difference with our choices. We’ll make the earth a better place and we’ll feel good while we’re saving it.

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About the Authors: 

John Izzo is co-author of The Purpose Revolution and president of Izzo Associates. He has spoken to over one million people and advised over 500 companies, including IBM, Qantas, the Mayo Clinic, Verizon, RBC, TELUS, Microsoft, and IBM. He sits on the Advisory Board of Sustainable Brands and is the author or coauthor of six books, including Awakening Corporate Soul and The Five Thieves of Happiness. You can reach John at: @drjohnizzo or on drjohnizzo.com

Jeff Vanderwielen is co-author of The Purpose Revolution and vice president of consulting at Izzo Associates and a former senior change consultant at Ernst & Young with 20-plus years of experience helping organizations manage large-scale change and articulate a compelling purpose – their core good – as the organizing center for their vision, strategy, and culture.