Ethical Consumerism

This article delves into the concept of ethical consumerism, exploring the motivations and behaviors of ethical consumers. It discusses the emerging trends in the market and the challenges and opportunities of targeting ethical consumers as a market segment. The article also highlights the importance of providing consumers with information to make well-informed purchasing decisions.

ETHICAL CONSUMERISM
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Introduction
Ethical consumers are those customers that use their spending power and their wallets to
make a difference in the world. They are also those people who are aware of ethical issues and
they are prepared to put their money where their morals are. These people buy goods and
services that are sourced sustainably and ethically, respecting the people involved and the
environments from which the products are gathered from1.
Ethical consumerism is whereby a person’s purchasing decisions are influenced by
ethical issues such as social justice, human rights, animal welfare or the environment.
The aim of this research is to figure out more about ethical consumers as a target market,
justify the intended business strategy and to also find out if people actually care about the ethics
of consumption when they are making their purchasing decisions. The research also focuses on
the viability of and the strategies for increasing this target market.
Ethical Consumers
Ethical consumers are consumers that are motivated by ethical purposes. Ethical
consumption movements are shaped by local political, social, economic and institutional settings.
Different people and cultures have different ideological traditions2. What is considered ethical in
a certain culture might not be considered ethical in another culture.
Different consumption movements have been formed by people from different cultures
and countries. The success of each movement is highly determined by their ability to frame their
objectives in a way that contribute and compliment the cultural norms and the prevailing ideas
about the political economy and democracy.
The most successful consumption movements are those that draw to people’s cultural
norms, religious origins and the spiritual values.
People’s Views on ethical goods
Surveys show that between 40% and 70% of all the consumers understand the need for
corporate ethics. Research shows that more consumers and corporations are gradually adapting
to ethical consumption.3
Here are some of the emerging trends in the market that comprise the term ‘ethical
Consumers’
Ladies first
1 Arli, Denni, Investigating Consumer Ethics, 636-645.
2 Bennett, Elizabeth A, Extending ethical consumerism theory to semi-legal sectors, 1-23.
3 Burgoon and Luc, Complements or Substitutes, 42-55.

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Women are more active as ethical consumers than men. According to research and
surveys 66 per cent of the female respondents prefer to buy ethical products compared to the 54
per cent of men who would.4 Most women purchasing decisions are highly influenced by ethical
issues therefore most women always or nearly always use and buy ethical goods and services.
Apathetic or just plain broke?
Research shows that the younger people are more apathetic when it comes to ethical
issues. 5The younger people are most thought as the most radical social- political group therefore
it is highly unlikely that the young generation will be willing to spend more money on ethical
goods. Younger people are not financially stable so most of them are not likely to spend more
money on goods because it’s ethical. It is also highly unlikely that most of these young people
will be agreeing to purchase ethical goods and services when they become more financially
stable but that still remains to be seen.
Going the Extra Mile
The ethical issues that motivate most people to buy ethical goods are; social justice,
human rights, animal welfare or the environment and child Labour. High profile campaigns have
significantly raised the Labour conditions in most of the developing countries. Customers expect
companies to go the extra mile and contributing directly to these causes by completely
ameliorating these conditions.6
Issues of Trust
Most companies are being pressured by the public to take up gauntlet of corporate
responsibility after most consumers realized that they have a lot of influence in big business
behavior.
More Information
It seems that if consumers had more information on products and companies, it would
increase consumer’s knowledge and power. Research shows that a lot of people feel that they can
influence corporate behavior and most of them wish and want to do so but they can’t because
they lack the necessary facts to make well informed and objective purchasing decisions.7 Most
people expect the suppliers and the manufacturers to provide them with the necessary
information but most of them don’t. This expectation runs somewhat contrary to the public’s
mistrust of most companies.
4 Kalton, Graham, and Howard, "The effect of the question on survey responses: A review." 42-
57.
5 Irving et al, Ethical consumerism–democracy through the wallet, 63-83.
6 Chowdhury, Rafi and I, The Mediating Role of Personal Moral Philosophies, 527-548.
7 Gummerus et al. Ethical Consumption Behavior, 449-465.

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The consumers are asking the governments to step out of their cozy relationships with
industries and urge them to provide its consumers with information so that they enjoy the level of
information provision they desire.
The 30:3 Syndrome
The 30:3 syndrome is the phenomenon whereby most consumers say that they care about
goods and services that are sourced sustainably and ethically, respecting the people involved and
the environments from which the products are gathered from and about company policies but the
ethical products rarely achieve more than 3% market share. According to most surveys the
respondents seem to exaggerate their level of interest in the matter.
Ethical investment
Ethical investment is also known as socially responsible investment or sustainable
investment. Ethical investment describes the investment process that incorporates social and
environment factors when selecting an investment while still achieving a competitive financial
rerun.8 Investing ethically simply means that you know what your money is funding and what it
is doing. The public awareness of ethical investment is currently running low at the moment but
despite all that the ethical investment and banking has been growing at a consistent rate of 20%
per year. Most people invest ethically so that they can make a difference.9
Ethical consumers as a target market
There are areas in the ethical market place that are hard to quantify.10 Most people apply
the ethical criteria based on their assessment of the company’s reputation instead of following
the chain of production to determine whether the products are ethically produced and
manufactured or not.
Here are some of the products that are aligned and clearly identified with certain ethical
issues;
1. Recycled paper
2. Ethical Investment
3. Renewable electricity
4. Organic meat, baby food and produce
5. Farmer’s market
6. Honey, chocolate, bananas, tea and fair trade coffee
7. Low- sulphur diesel and unleaded petrol
8. Energy sufficient bulbs
8 Hwang, Kumju and Hyewon, Ethical Consumerism: Movement From Desire to Decision to
Buy Green579-598.
9 Kang, Jee-Won, and Young, The case of Starbucks, 1130-1151.
10 Khan et al, Ethical consumerism and apparel industry-towards a new factor model, 1.

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9. Members of environmental groups
10. Freedom food eggs
Most people today are mostly concerned by the product quality and its price rather than
the principals involved.11
There are four segments that have been identified in the market. The most typical ethical
products are; unleaded petrol and low- sulphur diesel, organic food- after a slow, steady and
accelerating growth over the last several years, organic food is breaking through the one per cent
market share barrier. Freedom Foods eggs has also achieved much greater share levels, up to 20
per cent.12
There has been a constant complex interplay between consumer pressure and the
regulatory forces in the market place.
Conclusion
There is a variety of products in the market right now that meet different levels of success
where ethical consumerism is concerned. There have been failures and success in the ethical
market but there have also been substantial growth.
Despite the substantial growth in ethical consumerism, majority of the people are still
preoccupied with the products and their prices. The quality of products is still the most important
criteria to most criteria. When still considering the quality of the products most women shoppers
also look at the conditions of the people who produce the goods.
It is hard for most investors in companies to go for ethical consumers as a target market
because they will have to increase the cost of production if the adhere to all of the ethics
concerned in the chain of production hence reducing the company’s profit which is most
important to them.
Research shows that most women are most likely to pay more for green goods than men.
Rich people purchase ethical goods more than the average person because these goods are often
referred to as luxury items. Research also shows that highly educated people tend to go for
ethical goods and are willing to pay more for them. 13
Charitable involvement, political orientation and political activism are not linked or
associated to people’s preference for ethical goods. You would think that charity volunteers,
people who sign for petitions, political donors, people who boycott, protest and volunteer for
11 Manyukhina, Consumer Food Ethics, 595-614.
12 Crowe, Roger, and Williams. Who are the ethical consumers.
13 Moraes, Positive Shock, 1-17.

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humanitarian campaigns would support and buy ethical goods more since they all want to make
positive changes in the political and economic realm but most of them don’t.14
Research shows that most of these people don’t buy ethical goods because they are
expensive.
Most of these people are willing to fund causes that they deem worthy but they are not
willing to purchase ethical goods that are attached to a donate narrative.
Ethical goods seems to appeal to people who are willing to make the world a better place
but are not willing to spend their time doing it.15
Fair trade, Green, and homemade products attract a specific group of buyers. There are
these two popular narratives that appear to appeal to the general audience universally; BOGO
and Donate. BOGO products were introduced to into the scene in 2017 when they introduced the
TOMS shoes. Since then Soapbox soaps, Warby Parker glasses, granola bars, Smile Squared
toothbrushes have shared TOM’s success.
Products with the donate narrative seem to appeal more to the people than the ethical
consumption narrative.
Bibliography
14 Summers, Ethical consumerism in global perspective, 303-328.
15 Sekerka et al, Ethical Consumerism: Movement From Desire to Decision to Buy Green
548-557.

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