VirtuArte.com

There's more to running a business than making a profit.  Conscious capitalism is the idea of a "meaning based economy" -- the idea that businesses have the ability to enhance the quality of life for billions of people, while improving their performance in the traditional sense.

It's not just something small businesses are doing either.  Many popular, successful businesses subscribe to the conscious capitalism point of view.  Zappos, Google, Whole Foods Market and Trader Joes, for example, run their business with a conscious capitalism mindset.  And, it's obviously working for them, Whole Foods is the largest natural and organic food retailer in the world.

We recently posted about fair trade, which has a lot of similarities to conscious capitalism.  We thought the best way to explain conscious capitalism was by comparing it to fair trade.

Conscious capitalism and fair trade are both focused on improving the world.
Businesses interested in conscious capitalism realize that there are more stakeholders in a business than just the investors.  Suppliers, employees, customers and the environment are all affected by the company's decisions, and decisions are made accordingly.

Fair trade focuses more on improving life for poor artisans, farmers and workers.
Businesses interested in fair trade work to improve the quality of life for the world's poor by trading fairly, empowering workers, ensuring the rights of children and promoting environmental sustainability among other things.

Conscious capitalism focuses more on using a company's culture and leadership to improve life.
The leadership and the culture of a business are key when striving for conscious capitalism.  Company leaders need to put the values and mission of the business ahead of their personal interests.  The business's culture should support the company's leadership and purpose.

Fair trade and conscious capitalism go together.
Many businesses interested in conscious capitalism sell fair trade products to help support their mission.

As a consumer, you have a choice where your money is going.  When you patronize businesses, like VirtuArte, that focus on fair trade and conscious capitalism, you are working to better the world.

Click here to learn more about conscious capitalism.