LOHAS and CSR

A major trend is to see luxury as an enrichment of life, a means to deliver new experiences, and satisfy the consumer's curiosity for adventure and exoticism. Experiences are seen as the real luxury—exotic holidays, authenticity, environmental consciousness, in general a trend toward informed consumption (Silverstein and Fiske 2005: 45, 47). Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is gaining importance in purchasing decisions. This change in preferences demands know-how, intelligence, and education and underwrites the above mentioned change in social status markers. Japanese consumers are aiming for a return to a natural and simple lifestyle, with time for taking care of oneself and the family. Eating well, natural and organic food, spas and wellness holidays are no longer only for the elite and superrich.
The trend is to seek eco-friendly and slower lives. The health care market is expanding rapidly, with a trend towards preventive health care (Naikakuhu [Cabinet Office of the Japanese Government] 2005. For an estimated size of the health care market see METI [Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry] 2005). The idea of LOHAS (lifestyle of health and sustainability) has become a buzz word, and represents a 540 billion global market. It is linked with so-called “cultural creatives”—people who are starting to value health, social issues, and other aspects of life that aren't directly linked with past patterns of materialistic consumption. The concept is going mainstream in a much bigger way in Japan than in the U.S. As Peter D. Pedersen of E-Square Inc., a company that offers consulting on the concept of LOHAS in Japan, puts it, the timing was right: ”People who lost after the burst of the bubble were looking for an alternative that went beyond the power of money, [...]” something that offers them emotional engagement. For people who do not want to consume emotionally empty goods, socially responsible consumption (SRC), LOHAS and CSR are serving as a psychological antidote for an increasingly stressful world (Japan Times, June 6th, 2006: Gentler ecological lifestyle, products catching on in Japan; Ray 2001; Silverstein and Fiske 2005: 30; Nikkei Weekly, October 15th, 2007: 26). With the number of scandals of big companies increasing, integrating CSR into corporate strategies is becoming more important and represents a powerful tool for corporate image building for firms, showing that they are an integral part of the social and economic world in which they operate (Ota 2006: 17; Japan Close-Up 2006: 11, 19; Ishiwata 2006: 8.; The Nikkei Weekly, November 26th, 2007: 28; Kotler and Lee 2004; The Nikkei Weekly 2007: Fair trade reaches out to Japanese consumers, 26.02.2007: 31; Kotler and Pfoertsch 2006: 302).