Americans are quick to identify polluting companies as "socially irresponsible" and make their purchasing decisions accordingly, says a new survey. The poll also found that American consumers between the ages of 18-29 are more likely to spend more on organic, environmentally preferable or fair trade products than other age groups.

More than a third of consumers worldwide boycott at least one brand. This is the result of the latest global GMIPoll, an online opinion poll that surveyed 15,500 consumers in 17 countries.

Consumer interest in the health, wellness, and sustainability of our planet continues to gain momentum

Harleysville, Pa. (August 2005) The Natural Marketing Institute (NMI), the leading provider of strategic consulting, consumer insights and market research services across various health and wellness industries, today expanded on one of the trends it has identified as having a significant impact on the health and wellness marketplace. This trend is the fifth in the series of NMI’s Top Ten Trends of 2005.

Corporate social responsibility has been a hot topic lately and with good reason. According to a recent study by the Natural Marketing Institute (NMI), almost 90% of the U.S. population state that it is important for companies to not just be profitable, but to be mindful of their impact on the environment and society. Although actual behaviors are, at times, different, the implications of this attitude on business operations are far-reaching. Just over 70% of consumers indicate that knowing a company is mindful of their impact on the environment and society makes them more likely to buy their products or services, and nearly 50% state it makes them more likely to buy their stock.

It makes sense that putting the customer at the center of your marketing strategy is the cornerstone of a sustainable marketing strategy. But what exactly does that mean, and what implications would that have? The following articles each have a different take on Customer Centric Marketing and what it would mean.

Wordtracker just published a new keyword research guide - this is a must-read for those new to search engine optimization (SEO). It takes the reader through the process of researching keywords for a vegetarian pet food company. How nice for them to choose a green example for us!

A new report from Carbon Trust (by Lippincott Mercer) indicates brands will be affected by climate change issues.

"Brand value will be affected [by climate change] but as yet we don't know to what extent," says Tom Delay, chief executive of the Carbon Trust, a company funded by the UK government to help businesses and the public sector cut greenhouse gas emissions. "What is certain is that business needs to start thinking about it now. This report is a real attempt to quantify the impact on brand that climate change may have."

Here's the latest on organic and healthy food market segments: Based on proprietary health and wellness general population consumer segmentation model, it is apparent that the American population is becoming polarized with regard to wellness, with the healthier getting healthier and the unhealthiest becoming less healthy, reports the Natural Marketing Institute

The Hartman Group has published a short article that has some very useful tips on which wellness products are poised to go mainstream.