Finding hope in the marketplace

Hazel Henderson's, Ethical Markets: Growing the Green Economy offers a hopeful look at how the marketplace can actually help solve some of our problems.

Hazel Henderson in an expert on sustainable development, the author a eight books, a syndicated columnist, and co-developer of the Calvert-Henderson Quality of Life Indicators—an economic tool that looks at measures beyond gross national product and other traditional economic indicators to evaluate economic and social success. I just finished reading her book Ethical Markets: Growing the Green Economy, and have to applaud her for documenting, through hundreds of examples, that the marketplace can be part of the solution to our myriad problems, and not just part of the problem.

In the book's introduction, Henderson says, "More ethical markets are now necessary in the twenty-first century information age... Markets can only operate where there is trust, transparency, honesty, and fidelity in contracts..."

I couldn't agree more. We, as consumers, and as investors (no matter how small our savings and investments), have previously unimaginable power. Companies that watch out for the triple bottom line (or the economic, environmental, and social bottom line) are being rewarded. Those that only look at the economic bottom line are skating on thin ice. "Global communications and 24/7 financial markets birthed the new global superpower: world public opinion," Henderson says. "Billion dollar brand names can be devalued in real time... Governments and corporations are responding."

People interested in the status quo often say we can't raise food sustainably and feed the world, we can't produce products that are truly safe and meet the needs of the world. They are wrong, and Henderson's book helps to show that. Green chemistry, green building, organic food production, and safe manufacturing are possible. They are the only hope for our future, and ultimately for the companies that produce the goods we consume. As Ray Anderson, CEO of Interface Carpet, the world's largest manufacturer of industrial carpet and fabrics, says in the book, "We might not be here today, but for the sustainability initiative we undertook." His company has been well-rewarded by pursuing the triple bottom line.

Henderson includes web addresses for organizations and businesses in the text as she refers to them. They provide a great way for readers to learn more, but my one complaint about this book is that 100 percent of these should have been cross-referenced in an appendix, to make it easier for readers to follow up on interesting topics. But this is a minor flaw; the book is well worth reading.