The document discusses the rise of ethical consumerism, characterized by increased consumer awareness of product origins and purchasing practices, often influenced by information technology and media. It highlights trends in consumer behavior towards 'positive buying' of ethical products, amidst economic challenges leading consumers to make more selective purchasing choices. Additionally, it addresses the complexities of certifications and the impact on producers, particularly smallholders in developing countries, emphasizing the need for understanding consumer preferences and the implications of credence attributes in retail.

1. Ethical Consumerism
BY
Dr. SREEREMYA.S
FACULTY OF BIOLOGY

2. • Over the last two decades, more and more
people around the world, primarily in
industrialized countries, have become better
informed and more aware of the origins of the
goods they basically purchase on a day-to-day
basis, the buying policies and practices of the
shops they visit and the policies and principles
of the services they buy (Gabriel et al., 1995).

3. • In a growing number of cases, this aggrandized
awareness and knowledge is affecting consumer
practices and may be the Difference between
someone buying a particular product or service
or not. There are a various reasons for this
development, which is usually referred to as
―ethical consumerism‖, or also ―ethical
consumption‖, ―ethical purchasing‖, ―moral
purchasing‖, ―ethical sourcing‖, ―ethical
shopping‖ or ―green consumerism

4. • Certain thrust area of ethics is patenting, trade mark, logos, and intellectual
property. Basically, ethical consumerism is a form of consumer activism, in other
words, consumers taking responsibility for their decisions in purchasing goods and
services, Two core elements that have contributed to this development and that
are interrelated are the significant and sporadic progress in Information and
Communications Technologies, specifically internet-based, and the role of the
media in exposing bad practices in global supply chains of goods and services
(Davies, et al., 2012). If consumers log on to the internet in the current scenario
and carry out a search on ―ethical consumerism‖ or ―ethical trade‖, they will get
thousands of hits of web sites with data on these issues or specialized retail goods
and services advertised as either― ethical‖ or ―fair trade‖. Furthermore, there
are articles nearly every day in many of the leading newspapers and magazines on
life stories of exploited workers, sometimes children, who make products which
are eventually sold in the west at many times the small amount of money they are
paid in wages. All of which immensely contributes to a very confusing picture for
the average consumer, who is bombarded
• with messages of what to do or not to do.

5. • Ethical consumerism is practiced through ―positive buying‖ in that
ethical products, for example, those which are branded ―fair
trade‖, are favoured over others .The consumer is paramount and
understanding his/her needs and wants, actions and motives
(populations-customers pulse)is a collective responsibility.
Producers often fail to invest in understanding what consumers
want, what they do, and why. This will hugely result in their
commercial destiny lying in the hands of others. Opportunities to
increase penetration, purchasing frequency and repeat purchase
rates amongst the under-performing segments will be lost.
Suppliers must address the challenge to research deeply and target
the preferences of their final consumers. Ethical consumerism in
which the ethical delineates the moral values (Ethics,
2015).Patenting is another key aspect in securing the innovations
(Sreeremya, 2017).

6. • ‘ECO CRUNCH’- TOWARDS A MORE SELECTIVE PURCHASING
• BEHAVIOUR’
• Early evidence from evaluation of the current downturn in UK retail
spending and rising food, fuel and finance costs suggests that
consumers are trading down to lower-value products. All consumer
segments are unlikely to be affected in the same way and to the
same extent. Sales of organic products, for instance, have not seen
a dip in volume or value; in fact they grew 13.5 per cent in the past
year across Europe, up from 9.3 per cent in 2007 (IGD Consumer
Research 2008). However, there are early indicators of shifts within
purchasing behavior: demand for Sainsbury‘s ‗Basic‘ range is
growing while ‗up market‘ shoppers are now to be found in
discount grocery retailers such as Lidl, rather than just Waitrose.
Even so, consumers are buying more selectively rather than cutting
back on the green goods. Consumers are finding alternative, less
guilt-inducing paths to economies.

7. • Aggrandizing importance of credence attributes as a source of
differentiation: in a highly competitive retail environment, private
standards are very likely to increase in severity as firms attempt to
‗out-compete‘ each other on social/credence attributes associated
with their food lines. One outcome of this is that it becomes
aggrandizing challenging for producers and particularly low-
resourced small-scale producers from emerging/developing
countries, to be able to meet the increasingly exacting standards.
Organic and fairly traded produce has considerable potential for
improving the welfare of communities. Nevertheless, it is a key and
empirical question whether, and to what extent, the price
premiums paid by consumers are transmitted to primary producers
and their communities.

8. • While improved prices are an important opportunity for
smallholders, the costs of meeting accreditation standards are also
considerable, such that the net benefits must be analysed. It may
be that the prime benefit for smallholders is access to valuable
export markets rather than better prices and that these benefits,
according to a growing body of evidence, accrue mainly to better-
off producers(Connolly et al.,2008).
• Knowledge of credence attributes is complex in itself and
information generated by producers and public action is copies and
complex too. Consumers often find it difficult to understand the
differences between various certifications or how to properly judge
the reliability of a brand or a certification; no single label covers all
‗green‘ areas. This ramification is to be regarded not only as a
matter of education: consumers are confused because of bounded
rationality and time constraints where there are lots of alternative
products and a superabundance of information (Chomsky, 2009)

9. REFERNCE
• Journal of Logistics, Supply Chain and Retail
Management, Ethical Consumerism, S.
Sreeremya,2018.Vol(1):2,1-12.