Research by sociologist Paul Ray found that this population
comprises a growing market segment of educated consumers
who make conscientious purchasing and investing decisions
based on social and cultural values.39
Identified in a research report by Conscious Medium, this industry
has been named “Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability,” or
“LOHAS.” LOHAS consumers are driving a number of market
changes by demanding goods and services that meet their
desires to enhance health, environment, social justice, personal
development and sustainable living. The growing sustainability
movement, combined with the instant access to information that
the Internet provides, has resulted in a more educated and
discerning consumer than may have been apparent in past
surveys of the general market. LOHAS is a worldwide market
conservatively estimated at $228.9 billion, and growing. In the
U.S. the market supporting what are called ecological lifestyles,
including purchases of organic products, is at least $81 billion a
year