Every Purchase Matters

From the founder and CEO of Fair Trade USA, a critical account of the past, present and future of conscious capitalism--the change it has wrought in the world and the potential it still has to confront our greatest challenges. The climate crisis brings into focus a fundamental question: how can we benefit from our planet's resources--food, water, air, land--without destroying them? And without hurting each other? Fair Trade CEO Paul Rice has spent his life and career on these issues, pushing businesses to take responsibility for the way their products are sourced and encouraging consumers to buy those. In a world of labor strife, climate disasters, and unpredictable markets, this book is a reminder of how far we've come already, and makes the case that we don't have to despair. Telling stories of both success and failure, Rice shows how both business and politics can be harnessed to bring people out of poverty and natural systems into balance. He takes on hard questions about financial accountability, the perils of greenwashing, and the struggle to move the world towards a safer, better future, while building an argument that it's still possible. This is a story not merely about sourcing and business, but about the power of ideas and what it takes to make them real. Grounded in the lives of millions of people across the globe, Every Purchase Matters shows readers that the multinational companies often blamed for so many of our social and environmental problems can (and must) become some of the most important actors in creating a more sustainable global economy.