Stanford Social Innovation Review

Find out why Method home products keep their eco-friendliness under very attractive wraps.

TerraCycle turns what others leave behind into fertilizers and fashion.

For much of its history, Wal-Mart’s corporate management team toiled inside its “Bentonville Bubble,” narrowly focused on operational efficiency, growth, and profits. But now the world’s largest retailer has widened its sights, building networks of employees, nonprofits, government agencies, and suppliers to “green” its supply chains. Here’s how and why the world’s largest retailer is using a network approach to decrease its environmental footprint – and to increase its profitability.

Rewarding the socially responsible with customers.

Consumers say they want to buy ecologically friendly products and reduce their impact on the environment. But when they get to the cash register, their Earth-minded sentiments die on the vine. Although individual quirks underlie some of this hypocrisy, businesses can do a lot more to help would-be green consumers turn their talk into walk.

As nice as it is to think that modern corporations can do well while also doing good, there are serious limitations that the market imposes on their CSR initiatives. In addition, the legal obligations of corporations to their shareholders further restrict CSR’s potential to help solve social and environmental problems. At some point, we should be asking ourselves whether or not we’ve been promoting a strategy more likely to lead to business as usual than to tackling the fundamental problems of our time. 

How an all-natural Mexican farming cooperative is improving its community while making a bundle.

Consumers often say they want to be socially responsible when it comes to buying food, clothing, office supplies, and the like. But consumers’ noble sentiments are not often reflected in their actions at the checkout. In fact, a number of corporations have seen their efforts to sell socially responsible products fall flat because consumers failed to buy them in any significant numbers. There are, however, a variety of strategies that corporations can take to increase their odds of success.

Socially responsible brands that merge with multinationals may be abandoning their principles

Organic Exchange uses its global network to promote environmentally friendly fibers.

Why eco-friendly products may be bad for the environment.

When scarcity sets in, market forces can lead corporations to adopt green practices.