Table of Contents
- DATAMONITOR VIEW
- ANALYSIS
- INTRODUCTION: There are different levels and consequences of ethical
consumption
- Business leaders want to take action but are unsure how to best succeed
- Ethical consumerism is becoming more sophisticated
- TREND: Ethical and environmental concerns are escalating on a global
scale
- Concern over environmental and animal welfare issues are especially
high among Europeans
- US consumers have entered a more reflective and concerned phase of
consumption
- In the Asia-Pacific region more economically developed nations are
most concerned about the environment
- Take-outs and implications: ethical consciousness has entered the
mainstream and must therefore prompt a strategic re-think as companies
plan for the future
- TREND: Consumers are increasingly acting on their ethical beliefs via
product choices
- Fair-trade sales are experiencing phenomenal growth
- Beverages is the most important category in fair-trade, primarily due
to extensive coffee and tea sales
- Organic spending is growing, driven, in part, by ethical considerations
- Consumers will boycott brands/products that they perceive as lacking
environmental credentials
- Consumers are also disposing of the products they buy in a more
ethical manner
- Take-outs and implications: ethical consciousness is directly
impacting consumer goods sales
- INSIGHT: Socio-demographics impact how shoppers view ethical issues
- Take-outs and implications: manufacturers and marketers need to take
socio-demographics into account but recognize a democratization of ethical
consumerism overall
- INSIGHT: There remains a ' disconnect' between consumers' ethical
attitudes and actual buying behavior
- Consumers desire accurate information and education about ethical /
environmental issues
- Price can be a factor for some consumers failing to adopt more ethical
alternatives
- Consumers demand more from a product than solely being ethical
- Consumers are also questioning the broader integrity of the ethical
movement
- Strong ethical credentials are associated with enhanced consumer trust
- Take-outs and implications: removing the major ' inhibitors' to ethical
purchasing is needed to reap long-term rewards
- INSIGHT: Environmental concerns are paramount to the ethical consumption
trend
- Ethical consumption is not a wholly altruistic act
- Take-outs and implications: concerns about the environment are not
entirely selfless
- INSIGHT: Ethical consumerism is associated with self expressive
consumers looking to position themselves in a specific manner
- Take-outs and Implications: consumers use ethical consumption as a
means of expression
- INSIGHT: ' Going local' is a consumption trend with strong ties to ethics
- Food miles are in the consumer consciousness, but the term is not
without limitations
- Consumers are responding to concepts of ' carbon footprints' and ' food
prints'
- Take-outs and implications: ' buying local' is a key element of the
ethical movement
- Conclusions
- ACTIONS
- ACTION: Determine a clear plan of action to deal with increasing ethical
expectations among shoppers
- Research / monitor your company' s ethical performance effectively - if
you don' t others will
- ACTION: Endeavour to reduce the impact of your products on the
environment
- Source products and ingredients ethically where possible
- Demonstrate a commitment to reduce your packaging footprint by
reducing material waste
- Use ' light-weighting' alternatives where applicable
- Incorporate sustainability initiatives into all operations
- ' Carbon offsetting' can contribute to your ethical profile
- ACTION: Actively promote your ethical credentials ensuring honest and
clear communication
- Educate and inform consumers about your sustainability credentials
- Show consumers that your CSR activities are not just PR
- Use carbon offsetting in conjunction with other procedures and claims
- Ensure that ethical claims can be substantiated
- Get passionate activists onside or inside the company
- Don' t be afraid to reflect the positive and ' cool' aspect of ethics
- Make transparency and traceability core features of supply chain and
marketing communications
- Promote the story of the ethically produced product
- Avoid making ethical considerations the key message of marketing
communications, especially for new product promotion
- ACTION: Attempt to bring ethical consumerism to mass market
- Expand ethical product distribution into mass channels
- Develop branded initiatives that enable consumers to more easily
identify eco-friendly packages
- Use in-store signage to educate and communicate about environmental
credentials
- Command price premiums where possible yet strive to bring prices down
- APPENDIX
- Definitions
- Methodology
- References/ Further reading
- Ask the analyst
- Datamonitor consulting
- Disclaimer
- List of Tables
- Table 1: Fair-trade overall product sales by country, 2002, 2007,
2012, ($m)
- Table 2: Fair-trade sales by country and category, 2002, 2007, 2012 ($
millions)
- Table 3: The percentage of new product launches in the US and Europe
tagged as ' organic' , by product 2002-07
- Table 4: Organic food market value ($ millions) by country, 2002,
2007, 2012
- Table 5: Organic beverage market value ($ millions) by country, 2002,
2007, 2012
- Table 6: Organic personal care market value ($ millions) by country,
2002, 2007, 2012
- Table 7: Importance of fair-trade categories by gender, 2006
- List of Figures
- Figure 1: There are a number of drivers and inhibitors affecting
ethical consumption
- Figure 2: Ethical consumerism is becoming more sophisticated over time
- Figure 3: Australia and Spain are predicted to have the strongest
growth in fair-trade over the next five years
- Figure 4: The US, Spain and Sweden offer the fastest growth potential
in organic food sales
- Figure 5: Higher education positively impacts ethical buying behavior
- Figure 6: Over the past twenty years their has been a shift in
European and US consumer concern toward environmental issues
- Figure 7: Caring about the environment tops social justice concerns
for US fair-trade consumers
- Figure 8: Recent natural disasters have highlighted the impact of
climate change in consumers' minds
- Figure 9: Tesco has launched a new store with a 50% smaller carbon
footprint than a conventional store
- Figure 10: Educating consumers about ethical sustainability policies
increases awareness and adds impact to the changes being made
- Figure 11: Marketers can adapt farmers' market advantages for the mass
market
- Figure 12: Ethical considerations are secondary to a number of other
important needs associated with food and drink consumption
- Figure 13: In-store signage increases the visibility of sustainable
products
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