Civic consumption is a model for social change that leverages shared buying power to reward socially responsible businesses. The model operates by gathering a group of consumers to leverage the group's size in order to expand access to a particular good or service.[1]
History
The term first appeared in 2013, in a Fast Company article featuring Groundswell co-founder Will Byrne.[2] The model has been used in the clean energy sector by Groundswell. The model has expanded to increasingly include hybrid organizations.[3]
In 2013, Groundswell launched the Civic Consumption Network.
This network includes organizations such as Freelancers Union, First Book, EveryoneOn, and Common Market.[4] In December 2013, with the support of the Ford Foundation, the Rita Allen Foundation, and the Kendeda Fund, Groundswell hosted a national summit to discuss strategies for social change.[5] Notable attendees included Sara Horowitz of the Freelancers Union, Andrew Kassoy of B Lab, and Lewis of the U.S. Green Building Council.
See also
References
- ↑ "4 Innovators Using Civic Consumption to Change the World" Forbes, Retrieved on 23 December 2013
- ↑ "Purchasing Power is Social Impact Power" Fast Company, Retrieved on 22 June 2012
- ↑ "How Civic Consumption Can Drive Change in Business as Usual" Fast Company, Retrieved on 19 October 2012
- ↑ "Civic Consumption Puts the We in the Sharing Economy" Sharable, Retrieved 6 January 2014
- ↑ "Civic Consumption Summit 2013" Archived 2015-01-09 at the Wayback Machine CivicConsumption.org