Concern, fatigue, and doing your part

Sarah Rich in WorldChanging.com writes about “an extensive consumer survey” by two UK organizations looking at the relationship of eco-concerned consumers to the marketplace:

They point to the effectiveness of marketing tools and labeling systems that make apparent companies’ intention to provide their customers with authentic stories of corporate responsibility. They acknowledge, however, that such “voluntary consumer-facing initiatives” have always hit limits to their potential impact, perhaps succeeding in facilitating wide adoption of their gesture, but with little demonstrable change to the overall problem. Consumers either reach a point of fatigue with the decision-making process, or they readily opt for the more sustainable product, but then feel they’ve done their part and halt the progress towards wider shifts.