Creating Social Wealth: Profit and Sustainability

We live in an unsustainable culture, but it doesn't have to be that way. There are hints here and there that we are starting to realize that oil isn't an infinite resource, housing doesn't always appreciate, and even some of our most stable institutions can fail overnight, like Bear Sterns. As more of the emerging markets overseas attempt to emulate the consumerism and enthusiasm of bubble capitalism, a new philosophy of sustainable lifestyles is appearing and strengthening in the United States. This will have a very big effect on how we buy things online, in terms of what will sell, how we buy it, and the perceived costs of these products.

Social Entrepreneurs At The Forefront

Social entrepreneurship is booming in the United States. We are starting to create businesses that not only provide some social payback, but that are profitable too. These businesses run on metrics, making them more accountable than non-profits. They are interested in creating profit to enhance community, while building sustainable wealth for everyone. They will be out there in great numbers, affecting every facet of our society in the next year, and they will be big news.

I foresee social entrepreneurs implementing transparent feedback on the online businesses offering their products to customers about the sustainable values of the company. They will educate the public. How is buying this product helpful to society? That will be the question they will want answered first. How is the good an organization does measured in realistic terms, both social and monetary value? Where does the profit go after it is made? How does this business compete in the market of price and social values? It will be proven, over and over, that what is best for the consumer in price and value can also be best for the environment and business. And, the Internet is the best place to start this revolution of sustainable capitalism.

Consumers Learn To Breathe Easy With Sustainable Ways

Learning to be a sustainable consumer is much different than our present materialistic consumer mindset. As old style capitalism squeezes the hearts of most people who can't make the switch, they will begin to gasp for breath each time they're faced with filling their tanks, feeding their children, or buying anything at a retail store. Some are already turning away from mass consumerism towards conscious, sustainable, consumerism to help relieve the sense of impending doom coming at them. Others will need to be educated by those social entrepreneurs and socially responsible people that went before them. They will be searching for information on simple steps to breath easy with sustainable ways online and unknowingly joining a great, new, movement in capitalism. As they choose to support products that make their lifestyles easier, they will naturally gravitate to businesses that also provide more social revenue to them as well as to others, and, thus begin creating new sustainable communities and lives.