The Third Annual Conscious Consumer Spending Index Survey by Good.Must.Grow. (GmG), a socially responsible marketing consultancy, says that “there is “continued, albeit modest, growth in social enterprise and the number of Americans who are doing more good with their daily spending”.

A total of 1,021 Americans were polled this year for the annual survey. “The 2015 study found that 32 per cent of Americans are planning to spend more with companies who are socially responsible in the year ahead, up from 30 per cent in 2014 and 29 per cent in 2013,” GmG said in a press release. “Additionally, 64 per cent confirmed the importance of buying from socially responsible companies, up from 60 per cent in 2013.”

The organisation noted that respondents also increased their belief in the importance of “being green” which was defined as “recycling and favouring reusable products (87% in 2015, up from 83% in 2013) and reducing consumption, which included their overall consumer purchases (84% in 2015, up from 81% in 2013)”.

However, GmG feels that despite, what it calls “subtle progress” tracked in the past three years, “there are causes for concern”. This is due to its finding that only 73 per cent of those who planned to increase their “socially responsible spending” last year, followed through, down from the previous year, which reported a success rate of 76 per cent. There was no increase in the percentage of Americans who reported “buying socially responsible products and services, compared to last year (65%)”.

Overall, the #CCSIndex score held steady at 68 on a 100-point scale (pulling even with 2014 and up from 65 in 2013).

“Slow and steady may win some races, but if you look at the condition of the world around us, we are in a sprint, not a marathon,” said Heath Shackleford, founder of Good.Must.Grow. “So, while I think we can be excited to see consistent and continued growth in socially responsible behaviour, we have to act with urgency to remove obstacles and speed up our progress.”

Amongst other factors, GmG feels that lack of information is one of the factors as 46 per cent stated that “not knowing where to find socially responsible products and services prevented them from doing more good”.

“It’s going to take a collective response from conscious companies and conscious consumers to turn this from an evolution into a revolution,” said Shackleford. “Better world businesses have to find ways to more effectively connect with individuals who want to do more good. At the same time, individuals who claim to be socially responsible need to take more responsibility for seeking out organisations that are committed to social impact.”