The Power of Consumers This Holiday Season

This holiday season, industry experts expect the average American to spend $920 per person on holiday gifts (up from $885 in 2018) and reaching a total of more than $1 trillion in holiday spending (from this article).

Where we choose to spend our money matters. Think of every dollar as a vote. When we buy something, we are voting for that product and that company. We are showing our support for what that business stands for, and allowing them to make a profit.

It is critical that as consumers, we understand the power our money has. Businesses come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, with different missions and goals. Some businesses are monopolies with bottom line profits driving decisions. Some businesses are social enterprises, putting people and planet before profit. From this Forbes article, “Being a “social enterprise” means going beyond a focus on revenue and profit and clearly understanding that we operate in an ecosystem, and all these relationships are equally important.” For more on social entrepreneurship, and to help understand the reasons why 27Teas has a social mission, check out this Forbes Article written in 2016. 

When you are doing your holiday shopping this season, think about the kind of business you want to vote for. Shop local. Support businesses that are doing good and giving back. Yes, Amazon has free shipping and Target has a great toy section, but the local hand maker isn’t just reporting profits to shareholders at the end of the year, they have to look at their books and see if they made enough to donate baseball jerseys to the local athletic association or choose to spend a little more on the bio-degradable cups instead of the plastic ones.

This holiday season, vote for the little guy. 

To learn more about how 27Teas gives back, check out our latest blog post, announcing The Water Project as our donation organization of choice.