This nice overview of CSR begins with an illustrative short anecdote that shows how “creative capitalism” has been around for a while.
“Like many people in Guatemala, Dona Blanca grows crops which are exported to companies in North America and Europe. But unlike most of them, she is paid fairly for her work.
That's because Dona grows aloe vera for The Body Shop – a leader in corporate social responsibility. The money she makes allows her to send her daughter to school, one of 200 funded by the UK-based natural beauty products company.”
Then, just to demonstrate the breadth of sources that Google Alerts can turn up, I saw this article in Furniture Style magazine. It quotes research showing that consumers really do prefer to buy from companies that aren't evil. Good to know.