Wal-Mart more socially responsible than Burt’s Bees?

In overwhelming proportions, U.S. consumers view themselves as conscious consumers, socially responsible, environmentally friendly, and “green,” preferring energy efficiency, health and safety benefits, fair labor and trade practices, and environmentally-friendly practices in shopping decisions. But this same research found that these consumers also ranked the following companies as most socially responsible:

Company % selecting
Whole Foods 22
Newman’s Own 19
Wal-Mart 18
Burt’s Bees 17
General Electric 16
Johnson & Johnson 16
Ben & Jerry’s 16

A lot of these were probably within a margin of error (usually at least 3-5%), which was not stated in this report, which inadequately cited the original research. Even so, while they crow about how consumers shop their consciences, the general level of awareness seems dismal.

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