Embracing Ethical Consumption

Ethical consumerism, also known as ethical consumption, ethical purchasing, moral purchasing, ethical sourcing, or ethical shopping, and is also associated with sustainable and green consumerism. It is a type of consumer activism based on the concept of dollar voting. People engage in ethical consumerism by purchasing ethically made products that support small-scale manufacturers or local artisans and protect animals and the environment. Conversely, they boycott products that exploit children as workers, are tested on animals, or damage the environment. (USDA National Agriculture Library)

The term "ethical consumer", now used generically, was first popularised by the UK magazine Ethical Consumer, first published in 1989. Ethical Consumer magazine's key innovation was to produce "ratings tables", inspired by the criteria-based approach of the then-emerging ethical investment movement. Ethical Consumer's ratings tables awarded companies negative marks (and overall scores, starting in 2005) across a range of ethical and environmental categories such as "animal rights", "human rights", and "pollution and toxics", empowering consumers to make ethically informed consumption choices and providing campaigners with reliable information on corporate behaviour. Such criteria-based ethical and environmental ratings have subsequently become commonplace both in providing consumer information and in business-to-business corporate social responsibility and sustainability ratings such as those provided by Innovest, Calvert Foundation, Domini, IRRC, TIAA–CREF, and KLD Analytics. Today, Bloomberg and Reuters provide "environmental, social, and governance" ratings directly to the financial data screens of hundreds of thousands of stock market traders. The nonprofit Ethical Consumer Research Association continues to publish Ethical Consumer and its associated website, which provides free access to ethical rating tables. (EPA Environmental Resources)

The 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, the National Consumers League created in the US in 1898, and the 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 International Labour Organization (ILO) policy of campaigning for decent work wherever there was an opportunity for job improvement or job creation. (University of Minnesota Extension)

Basis

In Unequal Freedoms: The Global Market As An Ethical System (1998), John McMurtry argues that all purchasing decisions imply some moral choice, and that there is no purchasing that is not ultimately moral in nature. This mirrors older arguments, especially by the Anabaptists (e.g. Mennonites, Amish), that one must accept all personal moral and spiritual liability for all harms done at any distance in space or time to anyone by one's own choices. Some interpretations of the book of Genesis from the Judeo-Christian scriptures appear to direct followers towards practising good stewardship of the Earth, under an obligation to a God who is believed to have created the planet for people to share with other creatures. A similar argument presented[who?] from a secular humanist point of view is that it is simply better for human beings to acknowledge that the planet supports life only because of a delicate balance of many different factors. (Penn State Extension)

Some trust criteria, e.g. creditworthiness or implied warranty, are considered to be part of any purchasing or sourcing decision. However, these terms refer to broader systems of guidance that would, ideally, cause any purchasing decision to disqualify offered products or services based on non-price criteria that affect the moral rather than the functional liabilities of the entire production process.[clarification needed] Paul Hawken, a proponent of natural capitalism, refers to "comprehensive outcomes" of production services as opposed to the "culminative outcomes" of using the product of such services. Often, moral criteria are part of a shift away from commodity markets towards a service economy where all activities, from growing to harvesting to processing to delivery, are considered part of the value chain for which consumers are "responsible". (USDA National Agriculture Library)

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. 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. However, recent research suggests that a consumer's ethical obligation, self-identity, and virtues may also influence their buying decisions. (EPA Environmental Resources)

In an effort by churches to advocate moral and ethical consumerism, many have become involved in the Fair Trade movement: (University of Minnesota Extension)

Standards and labels

A number of standards, labels and marks have been introduced for ethical consumers, such as: (Penn State Extension)

Along with disclosure of ingredients, some mandatory labelling of the origins of clothing or food is required in all developed nations. This practice has been extended in some developing nations so that, for example, every item carries the name, phone number and fax number of the factory where it was made so a buyer can inspect its conditions. This can also be used to show that the item was not made by child labour or "prison labor", the use of which to produce export goods is banned in most developed nations. Such labels have also been used for boycotts, as when the merchandise mark Made in Germany was introduced in 1887. (USDA National Agriculture Library)

These labels serve as tokens of some reliable validation process, some instructional capital, 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. (EPA Environmental Resources)

Some companies in the United States, though currently not required to reduce their carbon footprint, are doing so voluntarily by changing their energy use practices, as well as by directly funding (through carbon offsets), businesses that are already sustainable—or that are developing or improving green technologies for the future. (University of Minnesota Extension)

Research

GfK NOP, the market research group, made a five-country study of consumer beliefs about the ethics of large companies. The countries surveyed were Germany, the United States, Britain, France, and Spain. More than half of respondents in Germany and the US believed there is a serious deterioration in standards of corporate practice. Almost half of those surveyed in Britain, France, and Spain held similar beliefs. (Penn State Extension)

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. (USDA National Agriculture Library)

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. Additionally, a study conducted in 2024 stated that ethnic consumer behavior can vary between emerging and developing countries. (EPA Environmental Resources)

In the UK, The Co-operative Bank has produced an Ethical Consumerism Report (formerly the Ethical Purchasing Index) since 2001. The report measures the market size and growth of a basket of 'ethical' products and services, and valued UK ethical consumerism at GBP36.0 billion (~USD54.4 billion) in 2008, and GBP47.2 billion (USD72.5 billion) in 2012. (University of Minnesota Extension)

Related concepts

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." As a result, the consumer buys pink ribbons during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, green products to support the environment, candy and popcorn from school children, greeting cards and gift wrap from charities, and other such often-unwanted objects. The consumer avoids considering whether the price offered is fair, whether a small cash donation would be more effective with far less work, or even whether selling the item is consistent with the ostensible mission, such as when sports teams sell candy. (Penn State Extension)

Some of these efforts are based on concept brands: the consumer is buying an association with women's health or environmental concerns as much as they are buying a tangible product. (USDA National Agriculture Library)

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. (EPA Environmental Resources)

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. 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 in brands and cosmetic products that are marketed as green. (University of Minnesota Extension)

Criticism

Critics argue[who?] that ethical consumerism has limited ability to affect structural change. Berkey (2021) has argued that ethical consumerism focuses on individual consumer behavior rather than systemic change and can create a false sense of efficacy and distract from more effective methods of creating change, such as collective action and policy reform. Timothy M. Devinney, Pat Auger and Giana M. Eckhardt say the actual effect of ethical consumerism is the preponderance of niche markets, while McCombs researcher Julie Irwin argues that because it is difficult for consumers to obtain enough information about the outcomes of a given purchase, this prevents them from making informed ethical choices. (Penn State Extension)

One study suggests that "Buying Green" serves as a license for unethical behavior. In their 2009 paper, "Do Green Products Make Us Better People?", Nina Mazar and Chen-Bo Zhong write: (USDA National Agriculture Library)

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. (EPA Environmental Resources)

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". (University of Minnesota Extension)

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most important thing to know about Ethical consumerism?

The most important factor is starting with an honest assessment of your current situation and available resources. Effective implementation depends on matching the approach to your specific context — climate, scale, community, and goals all matter. (Penn State Extension)

Conclusion

Embracing Ethical Consumption represents an important dimension of the larger shift toward sustainable, ecologically grounded ways of living. Whether you are just beginning or deepening existing practice, the resources and knowledge are increasingly accessible. The steps taken today — however modest — contribute to a compounding body of change that matters both locally and globally. (USDA National Agriculture Library)

Additional reference: Wikipedia — Ethical consumerism

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