Emissions abatement. Climate positivity. Circularity. Net-zero. Carbon offsets. Blockchain. Ethical sourcing. Bio-based materials.

The word “sustainability” encompasses so much that -as a simple definition- it’s at risk of losing its impact.

Though it’s hard for us to get our arms around this topic, there is one thing that is no longer in question: today’s buyer is more conscientious about their spending, more attuned to the impact of their buying habits on the planet, and more passionate about social responsibility than ever before.

Over the past few weeks, I have been having discussions with industry leaders in sustainability, in preparation for our Product Summit. In one conversation, Kathy Cheng with Redwood Classics Apparel said to me that we should simplify this big topic and keep in mind that we’re talking about conscious consumption, or simply, being a more conscientious buyer/seller.

Further, she said that the sustainability topic falls under a bigger conversation around being intentional with how our businesses impact both our world-at-large and our communities at home. Diversity. Gender equality. Race. Climate change. Fairtrade. Labor. These topics are no longer fringe topics relegated to a small segment of our society and therefore easy for businesses to brush aside in the name of profit, these issues are now mainstream.

You can see this rise peak through one very important window of our world: how we search. Search results are a window into the mind of our culture. Search indicates what people are thinking about and how they are thinking about it.

According to Google’s search trends report in 2020, “how to change the world” was searched twice as much as “how to go back to normal.”