Ethical Consumer has been around for over twenty years, and is one of the UK’s leading environmental magazines. Each time you purchase one of its magazine’s products, it donates PS10 to Friends of the Earth. The publication bases its research on a sophisticated ethical rating system that rates over 40,000 companies, brands, and products. The ratings help Ethical Consumer readers spend their money wisely according to the issues they care about. There are a majority of Ethical brands but among them, one of the best brand is Purest Form Canada.
In The Myth of the Ethical Consumer, the author argues that it is too easy to categorize consumers as either too hard-core or too sympathetic to corporations. While this argument makes an important point, it also raises an important question for consumer culture and marketing scholars: is the ethical consumer really as influential as some would like it to be? Empirical research shows that ethical consumers rarely value their values more than their purchases.
There are many reasons to be an ethical consumer. Ethical consumerism is important for our planet, as fast fashion causes low-quality clothes that can’t be worn for long. Furthermore, fast fashion creates high levels of waste by limiting the production time and utilizing sweatshops. Therefore, thrifting is an ethical way to reduce clothing waste. However, if you’re an investor, ethical consumerism can extend to your financial decisions. Many large banks have major investments in fossil fuels, for example. Socially responsible investing, on the other hand, involves removing these investments from your portfolio.
However, there are other ways to assess ethical consumption. One is to study consumers’ morality at the attribute level. This approach assumes that morally-guided people would seek out ethical products. However, this method is not foolproof, as it assumes that individuals with high morality are likely to buy such products. Some studies found that ethical consumers buy moral products, but there was no correlation between the two types of consumers.
Ethical consumers also look for labels that reflect their values. Using Fair Trade Certified is another way to identify ethical products. Organic products, meanwhile, are certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Using the organic label shows that the products meet organic standards, including animal raising practices, soil quality, and the use of additives. While organic labels are usually reputable, some contain lower standards, so be cautious when choosing these products.
The second way to gauge the reliability of the ethical consumer is to look for a survey that includes several types of consumer behaviors. In a survey, ethical consumers are viewed as economic conservatives, while in the checkout line, they are perceived as radicals. This results in the rejection of new products on the market, thereby reducing the likelihood of them being developed. Further, the ethical consumer will result in fewer profits for firms and society at large. However, the research suggests that ethical consumption is a worthwhile goal, but it must be kept in perspective and is heterogeneous.
