Conscious choices are not only made with respect to planetary health but also personal health since these two factors are actually inseparable if one were to take a holistic and integrated approach to our existence. The awakening of the individual consciousness or as Maslow refers to it as the need for self-actualization is perhaps the most important trend shaping conscious consumerism and sustainable capitalism. Rather than relying on outside experts, people are increasingly becoming alert to warning signals from their body, mind, and spirit to take decisions that empower their own wellbeing. This has given birth to a lifestyle revolution which has enormous positive potential for humanity to claw back towards a truly sustainable world.

“Rather than relying on outside experts, people are increasingly becoming alert to warning signals from their body, mind, and spirit to take decisions that empower their own wellbeing.”

Many people today want to make healthy and conscious product choices which are not only good for them, but also come at a minimal cost to the planet’s health or to those involved in making those products. This was highlighted in a book called Cultural Creatives back in 2000 and has since been popularized by movements such as LOHAS which stands for Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability. It is further evident by the consistent growth of LOHAS in developed economies such as the US and Western Europe, that there is a real market, a trillion dollar market now globally, for such products and services.

This is a promising metric for sustainable capitalism, one that is also driven by the consumer who holds both business and government accountable. This has become evident in several LOHAS pockets within the United States, such as Western California, parts of Colorado, the Northern Pacific Coast, and parts of the Northeast where businesses have responded by becoming more planet-friendly and local government policies have also reformed themselves to enable sustainable practices. The rise of B Corporations has also been a positive movement to bring transparency to the functioning of businesses as well as encouraging them to take positive social and environmental measures. The famous saying by Mahatma Gandhi of ‘Be the Change that you want to see in the World’ never held truer.

However, while LOHAS as a worldwide consumer phenomenon continues to grow, the recognition of this term seems to be falling consistently. Labels aren’t significant anyway, content and meaning are. At the Earthwise Group, we refer to this growing phenomenon that characterizes the rapidly changing aspirations of customers simply as
Tomorrow Living.