What does the underlined sentence mean?

onsumers may care about more than just price and quality when buying a good. Kysar argues that consumers often have preferences about how a good is produced, in particular about whether the production process conforms to basic environmental standards or labor regulations. For example, people may prefer to buy an otherwise identical shoe when the production process respects certain worker rights. If by buying a good consumers satisfy not only material needs but also the self-image of a conscious consumer, this makes a case for the mandatory provision of the relevant process information to consumers. Reliable knowledge about the characteristics of a good's production process helps consumers to purchase according to their procedural preferences; the resulting "political" consumption choice can even substitute for uniform regulations enacted in the political process.

HI.

The text is from the book I study. I don't especially understand the red colored phrase.

Please help me out.

Thanks in advance.