Target Greens Its Merchandise

Target’s recent commitment to sustainable goods is not exactly brand new; the firm has been offering the “Made to Matter” product collection since 2013. But Made to Matter, apart from its designed purpose of being good for the planet, has been good for the bottom line — and has netted $1 billion in annual sales.

“Made to Matter,” in its instantiation since its 2014 launch, groups together about 100 products that share a commitment to health, environmental stability and organic processes of production. All in, the 100 or so products are made by about 20 different brands.

For a business the size of Target’s, of course, a billion or so in sales is not much against the store’s $73 billion total sales haul. But “Made to Matter” is about more than sales — it is about building customer loyalty through an appeal to relevance and idea that customers like to shop and feel altruistic. A little more of the latter as an option in-store, as it turns out, may spur on a bit more of the former.

It also allows the firm to check a top priority box for CEO Brian Cornell, whose stated position is that he is aiming to seek wellness as a priority area for the firm, along with style, baby and kids. All of these areas saw increases in sales picking up at three times the rate of the firm’s overall sales during the holiday season shopping fest.

“When you take all of those things collectively, that’s what helps to share the understanding that Target is committed to wellness,” Target Chief Marketing Officer Jeff Jones told Fortune in an interview.

The program, however, has endured some editing in its current instantiation — a previous version had 300 products by 30 brands — but the effect was dilution, and some brands were moved out. But it seems many of those moved out brands are making a comeback this year, including Annie’s Homegrown, Ella’s Kitchen and Plum Organics.