Being an ethically conscious consumer is tough sometimes. It really can limit your choices. The good news is that it makes you feel better about where you end up spending your money and what the products that you buy represent for the greater good.
Just like other industries, the cannabis industry is no different when it comes to topics of ethical sustainability. Consumers of all ages, preferences, and backgrounds are driving the industry to adopt more socially responsible practices in their development, packaging, and sale of their cannabis products. If you want to be a part of this growing cohort of consumers that are longing for eco-friendly, ethical changes that can help sustain life on earth for many years to come.
Being an Ethical Cannabis Consumer
Many consumers continue to ditch the classic definition of luxury as being opulent decadence thereby allowing the retailers to attach a higher value to each product. Instead, consumers are gravitating towards values such as environmental and social awareness instead of merely branding and aesthetic appeal (taste and visual when it comes to cannabis).
Branding has begun to take a backseat to ethicality as a status symbol for most consumers, who would rather pay top dollar for products that they know for sure are eco-friendly, sustainable, and ethical conscious. Retailers have begun to catch on recently as legalization talks continue to ramp up due to the U.S. presidential election just around the corner. One thing that is still apparent is that there is still a stigma surrounding the cannabis industry; a stigma that ethical treatment of workers and sustainable production practices may be able to alleviate.
Use Your Voice to Make an Ethical Difference
As cannabis achieves legality in more and more places, it’s also giving rise to a very lucrative industry. In 2018, legal weed was worth
; up an entire billion dollars from the previous year. By 2022, revenue is expected to hit . This purchasing power means that consumers hold the keys to the kingdom and get to dictate to cannabis brands which ethical issues they care about the most.Whether consumers want the cannabis brand that they choose to volunteer in their community, have ethical hiring practices, or use sustainable energy sources to operate their business, you should use your voice to let that brand know how they can make a difference that matters to you. Of course, don’t expect them to immediately implement your wide range of ethical requests right off the bat. These things take time, so if they haven’t gotten around to making those changes, but have a plan in place to make them in the future, give them the benefit of the doubt that they’re headed in the right direction.
Using Ethical Consumerism to Your Advantage
Research shows that
will pay more for products made sustainably, while 83% consider a product’s environmental or social impact before making a purchase. These consumers continue to bring a sense of responsibility for maintaining a livable planet, righting the wrongs of our past to the cannabis industry with every purchase.As a consumer, you should always be looking at the entire supply chain of a business. Pay close attention to whether there is consistency within the ranks of the organization. Is everyone happy? Is the budtender treated with the same respect by the manager as the manager shows to the delivery driver? Keep this information in mind the next time that you make a purchase at your local dispensary so that get peace of mind that you’ve made the right ethical choice in your cannabis purchases.