The 2010 Cone Cause Evolution Study shows that moms are the most receptive to cause marketing and are the most likely to make cause-related purchases. Moms purchased more cause-related products than the other demographics surveyed (1,057 adults over the age of  18 were polled; 512 men and 545 women). Ninety-two percent of moms want to buy products that support causes.

“Certainly moms tend to have a strong sense of empathy for social issues and a desire to make the world a better place for their children. Buying a product attached to a cause is an easy way to make a small difference and still check a ‘to-do’ off the list,” Cone Insights Supervisor Sarah Kerkian told Fast Company.

The study also found that 83 percent of all consumers want more socially-conscious products and 41 percent of Americans have purchased an item because it was associated with a social or environmental cause, perhaps a little surprising given the economic recession. With the economy in mind, 81 percent of respondents said “companies should financially support causes at the same level or higher during an economic downturn.”