Ethical consumption: problem or solution?

A report of the January 2009 meeting of the FEC’s Business Forum

Is ethical consumption really part of the solution to environmental and social problems or is the challenge to break the habit of defining ourselves and our culture by what we consume? The January 2009 meeting of the Food Ethics Council’s (FEC) Business Forum discussed the issue.

The meeting was chaired by Julia Hailes, author of The New Green Consumer Guide and a member of the FEC.

We are very grateful to Professor Neil Ward, Dean of Social Sciences at the University of East Anglia, for speaking at the meeting.

Key points from the meeting include:

• The defining feature of ethical consumption is that people buy because of their values.
• Businesses do not simply respond to demand: they also create new ethical markets.
• Employees’ personal values can help drive innovation.
• Will recession knock the wind out of ethical consumption? The messages are mixed.
• Overall organic sales have dropped but demand for ‘values for money’ remains strong.
• More frugal consumption habits chime with efforts to reduce waste, but planning is key and poorer households lack resources.
• Ethical commitments by business are holding up, though costs may be pushed onto suppliers.
• Emphasis is shifting from ‘buy more ethical products’ towards ‘buy less but better’.
• High 2008 food prices boosted business sustainability initiatives, but came at a high human cost and pushed production into marginal environments.
• To square sustainability and economic growth, businesses must grow in value instead of volume.
• The downturn may bring more state intervention for struggling businesses.