A term first coined by Green Team Advertising, it describes a market segment (estimated at 50 million in the United States alone) [724] who consume as a means of flexing political power and influence while non-verbally voicing their beliefs through what they do or do not purchase. They believe a brand's values are as important as its price and performance, and seek companies whose core ideology are in line with their own. Due to the recency of awakening consumers and the difficulty in only consuming from brands whose values a person agrees with, awakening consumers are not without contradictions. For example, awakening consumers might drive an SUV but not patronize certain oil companies.
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Examples of Brands or Social Movements that have benefitted from awakening consumers

American Apparel, whose clothing is produced in sweatshop-free environments in the United States, has enjoyed sales that have exactly doubled every single year of the past five, from $5 million in 1999 up to $80 million in 2004.[725]

Fair Trade Coffee has drastically grown in popularity with the likes of Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Proctor & Gamble, Ben & Jerry’s and Sara Lee all selling fair trade coffee. trade/84

Cage-Free Eggs have more than doubled in prominence from 2005-2007. [726]