Giving Compass' Take:

• Heath Shackleford explains why conscious consumerism is becoming more difficult as social change issues become more complex.

• What are ways donors can encourage conscious sustainable practices and help consumers make better choices?

• Here is an ethical holiday gift guide for consumers who care about social impact.

A majority of Americans still buy into the “do good” movement. But the number of people acting on it is in decline. How can we reverse the trend?

I’m waiting patiently in line at the fish counter of my local Whole Foods. Two customers ahead of me are standing at opposite ends of the counter, bridging the space between with friendly grocery store banter. As they chat, the man points toward one of the rows of fish in the case.

This guy was trying to do the right thing. He was in a health-conscious store, trying to purchase a healthy option for dinner. And yet, he left feeling incapable of making a choice that actually was a good one.

This story represents a lot of what’s going wrong today with social responsibility. My agency recently released year-seven findings for our annual benchmarking study on socially responsible spending and other “do good” behaviors. The results show that such behaviors are continuing to decline across the country. What’s worse is that we see the greatest slide among younger Americans, the poster children for being purpose-driven and socially responsible.

Our study confirms that a majority of Americans still buy into the “do good” movement. And yet, our findings also clearly signal that all is not well.

The issues being addressed by social enterprises and mission-driven organizations are so nuanced and complex it’s almost unfair to ask the average consumer to make the right decisions all day, every day.

Moving forward, we have to simplify our terminology and make it much easier for consumers to do the right thing. We have to be honest with ourselves and admit we don’t have all the answers, while pressing ahead to quickly find them.

Read the full article about concsious consumerism is becoming difficult by Heath Shackleford at Fast Company.