Bezos to shareholders: It's 'irresponsible' not to be part of Amazon Prime

You're not being responsible if you're not already part of Amazon Prime, according to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.

In what seems to be the new catchphrase for recruiting members to the company's massively popular membership program, Bezos reiterated his "be responsible" campaign at Amazon's annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday.

"If you are not a Prime member, you are being irresponsible," Bezos said, according to GeekWire.

Bezos' comment was made to tout the growth of Prime, the company's exclusive membership program that costs $99 a year, or $10.99 a month. Prime members get free two-day shipping and access to a bunch of perks, including free video, music, and online-storage space.

Prime is an important part of Amazon's overall retail business. Its members are estimated to spend more and shop more frequently on Amazon, creating a loyal customer base that keeps coming back for more.

This isn't the first time Bezos made the "be responsible" comment over Prime. In Amazon's most recent annual shareholder letter, Bezos said that Prime offers such good value that it would be "irresponsible" not to be part of it.

"We want Prime to be such a good value, you'd be irresponsible not to be a member," Bezos wrote in the letter. "Prime has become an all-you-can-eat, physical-digital hybrid that members love...There's a good chance you're already one of them, but if you're not - please be responsible - join Prime."

Disclosure: Jeff Bezos is an investor in Business Insider through hispersonal investment company Bezos Expeditions.