Shopping for a Better World

A Case Study in Mission-Driven Marketing That Sparked a National Conversation

A Revolutionary Guide with a Grocery Store Agenda

Before Environmental Social and Governance decks cluttered boardrooms and “Buy Better” became a marketing slogan, there was Shopping for a Better World, a slim, unassuming paperback that did something radical:

It named names.
It rated over 2,000 products based on how the corporations behind them treated people, the planet, and their communities.  And it invited everyday shoppers to push for corporate accountability… right from the checkout aisle.

Created by Alice Tepper Marlin and published by The Council on Economic Priorities (CEP), this grassroots guide assessed more than 200 corporations using indicators like:

Environmental sustainability
Gender and racial equity
Family and employee benefits
Community outreach

CEP’s research covered over 700 companies, from S&P 500 giants to socially responsible small businesses, as well as major players in Germany, Japan, and the UK.

It Wasn’t Just Informative. It Was Subversive.

This guide didn’t just tell you which cereal brand supported clean water or which shampoo maker had a poor diversity record. It challenged the idea that corporations were untouchable.

It empowered consumers to vote with their dollar.

By turning shopping into a conscious act, it quietly undermined the profit-over-principle status quo.  In today’s terms, it was anti-corporate resistance disguised as a buyer’s companion. A printed rebellion in your grocery tote.

The Mission:

Make values-based shopping mainstream, without social media, digital ads, or influencers.

The year was 1989. There were no viral campaigns. No email lists. No DTC toolkits.

Just a group of passionate people, a powerful message, and a cultural moment ready for disruption.

My Role in the Movement

I led media outreach and messaging strategy for the launch. That included:

Cold-calling editors at The New York Times, TIME, and national TV outlets.

Writing op-eds, press releases, and talking points that made corporate accountability understandable and urgent.

Helping organize live events, bookstore talks, town halls, and college campus activations.

Shaping the brand voice: non-preachy, playful, direct. We made ethics look cool and sound accessible.

I also worked shoulder-to-shoulder with Alice and her volunteers:

Stuffing thousands of press kits and pitch letters by hand.
Fielding calls from journalists and activists.
Making CEOs sweat, one rating at a time.

The Creative Twist

We didn’t just publish a guide. We rebranded what it meant to be a conscious consumer.

Using color-coded signals, red light / yellow light / green light, we translated complex social data into quick, emotional cues.

It was UX thinking before UX was a thing.

Something you could flip through in the cereal aisle, instantly making better choices.

It became the original “ethical shopping hack.”

The Results

Shopping for a Better World became a national bestselle and featured on national morning shows and in The New York Times, and USA Today.

It was adopted by MBA programs and social impact courses as a stakeholder capitalism case study and helped ignite shareholder activism and the early ESG movement. Most importantly, it proved that press + purpose + public pressure could shift behavior, without spending millions on ads.

Why This Still Matters

Today’s ethical brands and nonprofits are facing the same core challenge:
How do you get people to care enough to act?

This case proves it’s possible,  with the right narrative, the right visual language, and the courage to call things what they are.

We didn’t have a tech stack.
We had truth-telling.
We had clarity.
And we had a powerful idea: You have more power than you think.

How I’d Do It Today (With AI + Digital Precision)

If Shopping for a Better World launched now, I’d still start with truth-telling,  but I’d supercharge it with tech that gives the message wings. Here’s how I’d approach it today:

Digital Twin of the Conscious Consumer
I'd use behavioral AI to create detailed digital twin profiles of our ideal readers:

Their values, purchase habits, and social media behavior
What headlines spark outrage vs. what earns a scroll-by
Where they live online, Substack? Threads? TikTok corners of moral capitalism?

These psychographic profiles would guide tone, timing, and placement of every campaign touchpoint, from influencer partnerships to media hooks.

Generative Content at Scale (Still Human at the Core)
I'd co-write content with AI,  blog posts, email sequences, data visualizations, using large language models to test different frames and headlines. Then I'd run multivariate content across social platforms to see what actually drives action, not just likes.

Real-Time Feedback Loops with No-Code Tools
I'd spin up interactive product rating databases using Airtable or Softr, feeding user input into dynamic charts to keep the ratings alive, not frozen on the page. Consumers could sort by category, location, or cause,  then get email digests tailored to their values. All automated.This kind of setup invites participation and builds community ownership over the data. People aren’t just reading a guide, they’re co-creating the movement in real time. 

Predictive PR and Media Targeting
With tools like Propel or Muck Rack + AI summarizers, I'd analyze which journalists are actually covering impact at a systems level, and pitch with customized hooks based on their recent work, not just a mail merge.

Movement Architecture via Community Tech
I'd seed viral participation loops:

Think “rate your cart” Chrome extensions.
Open-source maps of ethical brands. Just imagine a shopper visiting their site and filtering the map to find: “Vegan skincare brands with carbon-neutral shipping, available in Canada.”

They click a pin → get a brand summary → and see “community-verified” notes with links to reports, impact stats, or user feedback. I'd also build grassroots ambassador programs run via Discord or Geneva

The same spirit. Just faster, louder, and more connected.

AI Chat Assistants for Radical Accessibility
I'd build a chatbot that lets consumers ask:

“Which toothpaste brand supports fair labor?”
“What are the top 3 ethical coffee companies right now?”
And get smart, empathetic answers,  trained on real-time data and our evolving standards.

The Soul Is the Same. The Tools Are Smarter.
This isn’t about replacing the grassroots spark. It’s about igniting it faster, with tools that scale truth and sharpen connection. Tech is just the megaphone. The message still matters most.

So if you're sitting on a movement, a mission, or a message that could wake people up, let’s plug it into the tools of today. Because your idea deserves traction and transformation.

Ready to Launch Your Own Movement?

If you're building a mission-driven brand, nonprofit, or conscious startup,  and wondering:

How do I grow awareness without an ad budget?

How do I market to conscious consumers? 

What’s the best way to pitch media for an NGO or impact campaign?

How do I make people care about my cause?

Let’s talk.

I help founders and change makers turn purpose into real-world traction, through messaging, positioning, and PR that cuts through.

Book a strategy call
Let’s grow your impact without compromising your values.

Popular Search Questions I Can Help You Answer

If you're asking:

How do I market my nonprofit with no budget?
What’s the best PR strategy for a social impact campaign?
How do I attract donors or conscious shoppers without paid ads?
How do you build a movement around a cause or mission?
What’s the difference between storytelling and brand activism?

Then you’re the kind of client I built my practice around.

Let’s build something that actually matters, and get noticed for it.