Ethical consumerism
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Ethical consumerism (alternatively called ethical consumption, ethical purchasing, moral purchasing, ethical sourcing, or ethical shopping and also associated with sustainable and green consumerism) is a type of consumer activism based on the concept of dollar voting.[1] People practice it by buying ethically made products that support small-scale manufacturers or local artisans and protect animals and the environment, while boycotting products that exploit children as workers, are tested on animals, or damage the environment.
The term "ethical consumer", now used generically, was first popularised by the UK magazine The nonprofit Ethical Consumer Research Association continues to publish Ethical Consumer and its associated website, which provides free access to ethical rating tables.
Although single-source ethical consumerism guides such as Ethical Consumer, Shop Ethical,[4] and the Good Shopping Guide[5] are popular, they suffer from incomplete coverage. User-generated ethical reviews are more likely, long-term, to provide democratic, in-depth coverage of a wider range of products and businesses.[6] The Green Stars Project[7] promotes the idea of including ethical ratings (on a scale of one to five green stars) alongside conventional ratings on retail sites such as Amazon or review sites such as Yelp.
The term "political consumerism", first used in a study titled "The Gender Gap Reversed: Political Consumerism as a Women-Friendly Form of Civic and Political Engagement" from authors Dietlind Stolle and Michele Micheletti (2003), is identical to the idea of ethical consumerism. However, in this study, the authors found that political consumerism as a form of
Consumer groups
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, people in industrialized countries began formal consumer movements to ensure that they would get value for their money in terms of the things they purchased. These movements focused on the unfair labor practices of the companies, and on labelling requirements of food, cosmetics, drugs, etc. Examples of the consumer movements were the Consumer League which was established in New York, US in 1891, National Consumers League created in US in 1898, and Consumers Council which was established during World War I in Great Britain. During this time[clarification needed] workers were neither well-paid nor did they have secure employment with benefit of social[clarification needed] protection; similarly, working conditions were decent[clarification needed] and the Irish Trade Union movement focused the ILO[clarification needed] policy of campaigning for decent work wherever there was an opportunity for job improvement or job creation.[12]
Basis
Global morality
In Unequal Freedoms: The Global Market As An Ethical System (1998),
Spending as morality
Some trust criteria, e.g.
Andrew Wilson, Director of the UK's Ashridge Centre for Business and Society, argues that "Shopping is more important than voting", and that the disposition of money is the most basic role we play in any system of economics.[13] Some theorists[who?] believe that it is the clearest way that we express our actual moral choices: if we say we care about something but continue to buy in a way that has a high probability of risk of harm or destruction to that thing, we don't really care about it; we are practising a form of simple hypocrisy. Ethical consumerism is widely explained by psychologists using the theory of planned behavior, which attributes a consumer's choices to their perceived sense of control, social norms, and evaluation of the consequences.[14] However, recent research suggests that a consumer's ethical obligation, self-identity, and virtues may also influence their buying decisions.[15]
In an effort by churches to advocate moral and ethical consumerism, many have become involved in the Fair Trade movement:
- Ten Thousand Villages is affiliated with the Mennonite Central Committee[16]
- SERRV International[17] is partnered with Catholic Relief Services[18] and Lutheran World Relief[19]
- Village Markets of Africa sells Fair Trade gifts from the Lutheran Church in Kenya[20]
- Catholic Relief Services has their own Fair Trade mission in CRS Fair Trade[21]
Standards and labels
A number of standards, labels and marks have been introduced for ethical consumers, such as:
- B corporation
- Co-op Marque
- Dolphin safe
- EKOenergy for electricity agreements
- Equal Exchange
- Ethical Consumer Best Buy label
- Fairtrade
- Free-rangepoultry
- FSC-certified sustainably sourced wood
- Grass fed beef
- Green America Seal of Approval
- Halal (religious standard)
- Kosher(religious standard)
- Local food
- MSC-certified sustainably sourced seafood
- No Pork No Lard (semi-religious standard)
- Organic food
- Organic Trade Association
- Product Red
- Rainforest Alliance certified
- Recycled/recyclable
- Respects Your Freedom
- Shade-grown coffee
- Social Accountability 8000
- Union-made
- Vegan
Along with disclosure of ingredients, some
These labels serve as tokens of some reliable validation process, some instructional capital,[22] much as does a brand name or a nation's flag. They also signal some social capital, or trust, in some community of auditors that must follow those instructions to validate those labels.
Some companies in the United States, though currently not required to reduce their
In 2009,
Some theorists[
Research
About a third of respondents told researchers they would pay higher prices for ethical brands, though the perception of various companies' ethical or unethical status varied considerably from country to country.
The most ethically perceived brands were The Co-op (in the UK), Coca-Cola (in the US), Danone (in France), Adidas (in Germany), and Nestlé (in Spain). Coca-Cola, Danone, Adidas, and Nestlé did not appear anywhere in the UK's list of 15 most ethical companies. Nike appeared in the lists of the other four countries but not in the UK's list.
In the UK,
A number of organizations provide research-based evaluations of the behavior of companies around the world, assessing them along ethical dimensions such as
Related concepts
Conscientious consumption
Conscientious consumerism is when people make a habit of buying goods from ethical companies and avoid impulsive buying from unethical ones, in order to contribute positively in political, social, and environmental ways. Such a consumer rationalizes unnecessary and even unwanted consumption by saying that "it's for a good cause."
Some of these efforts are based on
Conscientious consumption involves people who are "more focused on real needs than artificially created craves," such as not continually following trend cycles in consumer industries.[37]
Conscientious consumerism has become more popular in recent years, with consumers becoming more aware of the impact of their purchases on society and the environment. This trend has led to the growth of companies that prioritize corporate social responsibility and ethical practices in their operations to reinforce customer loyalty.[38] However, some companies have taken note of this shift towards conscientious consumerism and started deceptive marketing to convey a false impression that their product is environmentally friendly. This green marketing tactic is called greenwashing, which is prevalent in the cosmetic industry. Greenwashing has a negative impact on consumer trust with brands and cosmetic products that are marketed as green.[citation needed]
Alternative giving
In response to an increasing demand for ethical consumerism surrounding gift-giving occasions, charities have promoted an alternative gift market, in which charitable contributions are made on behalf of the gift "recipient". The "recipient" receives a card explaining the selected gift, while the actual gift item (frequently agricultural supplies or domestic animals) is sent to a family in a poor community.[39]
Criticism
Critics argue[
One study suggests that "Buying Green" serves as a license for unethical behavior. In their 2009 paper, "Do Green Products Make Us Better People?",[44] Nina Mazar and Chen-Bo Zhong write:
In line with the halo associated with green consumerism, people act more altruistically after mere exposure to green than conventional products. However, people act less altruistically and are more likely to cheat and steal after purchasing green products as opposed to conventional products. Together, the studies show that consumption is more tightly connected to our social and ethical behaviors in directions and domains other than previously thought.
In a 2010 The Guardian article, British environmental writer and activist George Monbiot argued that green consumers who do not articulate their values are part of "a catastrophic mistake," on the grounds that such consumerism "strengthens extrinsic values" (those that "concern status and self-advancement"), thereby "making future campaigns less likely to succeed".[45]
James G Carrier, Associate at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, draws on Karl Marx's concept of commodity fetishism to argue that ethical consumption does not help consumers lead a more moral life, nor does it influence businesses as intended.[46] The goal of ethical consumption at a personal level is to lead a more moral life, and that capitalism causes commodities to be presented in such a way that they are perceived without regard for the labor that is represented by the product, the labor that was involved in allowing that commodity to exist.[clarification needed] The goal at a public level is for consumers to use their purchasing power to put pressure on companies to change the way they conduct business. Marx argued that under capitalism, the presentation of goods obscures the people and processes behind their production.
Carrier begins by giving examples of products that have been presented in a way that misrepresents their context. He first points to the images of growers commonly found on fair trade coffee packaging. The image suggests self-reliance and ignores the dependence upon immigrant wage workers who harvest the coffee. Fairtrade coffee is viewed[who?] as a direct link to the grower without a middle man. However, there are many parties involved such as the roasters, shippers, wholesalers, and retailers of the product. Carrier also discusses fictitious commodities, which are things that are not produced in the conventional sense, material or not, and can be appropriated for commercial gain.[clarification needed] The conceptual categories of ethicality need to be legible to consumers in order for a consumer to be able to participate in ethical consumption.[clarification needed] Sellers use imagery to satisfy that need, and the images they use become emblematic and representational of the values of ethical consumers, and in some ways the presentation of these images fetishize the product, and the pervasiveness of such images begins to shape ethicality, as the absence of these images also signifies the absence of those same values. In short: it is difficult to buy ethical products because there are many aspects to commodities that consumers are unable to be fully aware of; fully informed decisions are almost impossible to make. Consumers see the images that sellers use as a means of virtue signaling, and purchase those products with the intent of ethical consumption because they believe that those images have been produced conscientiously to represent conceptual categories of "ethical."[46]
Carrier extends commodity fetishism to include
The strategic direction of the consumer's attention further mystifies and fetishizes the object of consumption.[clarification needed] Carrier points out that the moment of consumer choice is emphasized rather than the context that leads people to seek ethicality.[46] He believes that more attention should be paid to how the consumer acquired their moral leanings.
See also
- Anti-consumerism
- Carrying capacity
- Cause marketing
- Circular economy
- Circular fashion
- Consumerism
- Critical consumerism
- Cultured meat
- Degrowth
- Double-duty dollar
- Ecologism
- Ethical banking
- Ethical eating
- Ethical investing
- FIRE movement
- Fair trade
- Frugality
- Green brands
- Intentional living
- Leon Sullivan § Selective Patronage Movement
- Organic food culture
- Socially responsible investing
- Sustainable fashion
- Sustainable living
- Textile recycling
- Veganism
- Vegetarianism
- Zero-waste fashion
References
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- ^ "20th Birthday!". Ethicalconsumer.org. Retrieved 2013-08-18.
- ^ Lubber, Mindy S. (6 May 2009). "Is ESG Data Going Mainstream?". Harvard Business Review. Blogs.hbr.org. Retrieved 2013-08-18.
- ^ "Shop Ethical". Retrieved 2019-05-11.
- ^ "The Good Shopping Guide". Retrieved 2019-05-11.
- ^ "Ethical Consumerism, Part 5: Why we need User-Generated Ratings". greenstarsproject.org. 22 April 2018. Retrieved 2019-05-11.
- ^ "The Green Stars Project". Retrieved 2019-05-11.
- ^ Stolle, Dietlind; Micheletti, Michele (2003). "The Gender Gap Reversed: Political Consumerism as a Women-Friendly Form of Civic and Political Engagement: An Exploratory Study in Canada, Belgium and Sweden. Work in Progress" (PDF). umanitoba.ca. Retrieved 2018-12-14.
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- ^ "Home - Lutheran World Relief | Working to end poverty, injustice and human suffering". Lwr.org. Retrieved 2013-08-18.
- ^ "About Village Markets and Fair Trade". Villagemarkets.org. Retrieved 2013-08-18.
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ignored (help) - ^ Do Green Products Make Us Better People? (Psychological Science, April, 2010) Nina Mazar, Chen-Bo Zhong
- ^ Monbiot, George (12 October 2010). "It goes against our nature; but the left has to start asserting its own values". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
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Further reading
- Speth, James Gustave (2008). The Bridge at the End of the World: Capitalism, the Environment, and Crossing from Crisis to Sustainability. Caravan Books.
- Bartley, Tim and colleagues (2015). Looking Behind the Label: Global Industries and the Conscientious Consumer. Indiana University Press.