Ethical Implications Of Ethical Consumerism

Moreover, the growing number of conscience consumers was highlighted in a recent Bursen-Marsteller report; “people will more likely choose a product that supports a social cause when choosing between otherwise similar products” (Penn, Schoen & Berland, 2010). These average consumers daily decisions are slowly but surely being influenced by social concern and responsibility. Finally, the critical issue for Company Q is the social responsibility to its customers, who looks to business to provide them with satisfying, safe products and respect their rights as customer.

Ethics are integral in the 21st century due to the evolution of business, technology, and government oversight. There is a legal responsibility to do what is right by the customer – if you produce a product knowing that there is a high risk of harm to the consumer, you will be eventually be found out, prosecuted, and held liable.

As more and more people are aware of environmental problems which our human being are facing, most people nowadays do shopping with some degree of morality in mind, taking social or environmental issues into consideration as they select from a range of product or services. Therefore, the concept of

In the novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, happiness is directly correlated to the consumerism that is instilled in the citizens from the beginning of their lives in order to create a materialistic culture where instant gratification is the foundation of the society. From the beginning of their lives, citizens in Huxley’s society are conditioned using the process of hypnopaedia to fundamentally influence their thoughts and understanding of the world around them. Through this process, the “utopian” society has formulated a consumerist culture as there is no actual want, materials are easily acquired and viewed as disposable. As things break or falter, they are cast out, there are no reparations as made evident in a hypnopaedia rhyme tactic,

Organic. Cage Free. Free Range. Grass Fed. Non-GMO. These descriptors are used in grocery stores across the United States of America and are a major component of guiding consumers through their purchasing decisions. However, since these labels usually appear without any description, how do consumers know what do these labels really mean? Furthermore, how do food producers and their governing organizations decide when a label can be applied? The meat, egg, and produce industry are all affected by this nomenclature system. Therefore, the everyday consumer comes in contact with these labels every time they make a food purchase and often rely on them to help them make the healthier and more ethical food choice. But are these labels really denoting ethical sourcing, improved health benefits, and how strictly is the labeling regulated?

Consumers increasingly consider the social impact of the money they spend. Some will pay more to support retailers who assert sustainable practices, for instance, by buying products made with recycled material. Others avoid companies notorious for irresponsible or unethical practices, such as outsourcing manufacturing to exploitative sweatshops in under-developed countries. More than ever, retail store owners must consider the ethical and social ramifications of their actions, as well as the actions of their suppliers (Mack, n.d.).

All consumers should make every effort to make ethical purchases. This involves evaluating their morals and values in order to make sound decisions on their purchases. This also includes setting priorities and examining what is really important to the consumer. If a consumer cares about the wrongdoings of employees and expresses their concerns through purchases, then companies who do the right things would gain a large share of the market. However, consumers cannot change the world or fix social injustices totally through their purchases, some things are never seen by the consumer because companies have become great at hiding the unethical parts of business. Sometimes consumers have to make tough decisions because a sustainable brand may be too expensive and be a lower quality than other less sustainable brands.

Even though we have everything we need to survive, we still want more. For example, we only need one pair of shoes but instead we go out and see these really cute shoes at Forever 21 and we have to have them. You do not need another pair of shoes because you already have a pair. Consumers think that by getting more things, it will fulfill them even more. Instead of spending money on stuff we do not need, we should be spending it on more important things(like College tuition) or people who really need it(people in Africa, homeless, or even

Currently, consumers must look to other key terms to understand the true ethics behind the food they are purchasing because the current labelling procedures do not encapsulate all the criteria that they ought to.

The international business environment can be defined as the environment in different sovereign countries, with factors exogenous to the home environment of the organization, influencing decision-making on resource use and capabilities (Morrison, 2011). Global business environment can created challenges for companies that are found to be linked to unethical business practices. This paper discusses the code of ethical conduct of Apple Inc. and issues faced by the company on a whole when it comes to ethical behavior. Apple is a manufacturing, distributing and selling company. They sell a computer software and technology to stores all over the world. Apple is one of the world’s largest manufacturers and distributors of technology and they operate in around 10 countries.

The objective of this paper is to identify and analyse the policies specified by government and organisations for the protection of consumer interests and the role of ethics in consumer choice. It also analyses the role of ethics in consumer culture and give examples of how the service sector reacts to it.

One of the leading companies that adopted CSR as a pioneer of ethic is The Body Shop. The company has used CSR as a competitive strategy in order to succeed in business. The shop owner knows what she does best. So, products are developed based on a specific group of customers in order to create a strong brand preferences and unique way with a perception of enormous customer groups, called sustainability ideals. The source of The Body Shop success is to utilize the benefits of CSR by selling products based on natural ingredients, paying a fair price and no testing on animal. According to porter (1985), he claimed that sustainability of differentiation depends on two things: "it is continued perceived value to buyers and the lack of competitor ability to imitate it" (Porter 1985 cited in Mallin 2009, p.71). It requires a transparency of work process with stakeholders. From this example, it explains why CSR is important to modern businesses like The Body Shop (Mallin 2009, pp.59-78),(Kwapong 2005, p.89).

Consumerism plays an extreme role in today’s economy and society. It is one of the key aspects of the economy growing, however it negatively affects the people of society. Consumerism has taken over society, with peoples’ need to classify themselves in a certain social status with the purchases of expensive merchandise. It may help the economy thrive, however it is society’s downfall with its depressing need to buy unnecessary products. Through modern technology, consumerism can easily capture people into its hands of destruction. Advertising and the beliefs of modern society have a negative impact on consumerism. With the ability of advertising products through posts on social media, people tend to buy items that are not necessary.

Businesses have been relatively passive in investigate their in marketing ethics and are still operating according to traditional business models and process that do not reflect consumer interests and ethical implications of their activity often continue afterthought and are yet to be thoroughly incorporated into management decision-making. The contingency framework can accelerate this pre-emptive approach to ethical decision-making. To embed ethics into firms planning and strategy formulation process , marketers should learn from consumers ethical evaluation of their marketing techniques (Smith and Cooper-Martin 1997). An “ethical execution of the marketing program. In addition to financial , market, and competitive objectives, marketers should include consumer concerns and ethical integrity as important criteria for management decision making . Furthermore, ethics must be matched throughout the marketing planning process from product development, market selection , advertising and promotion execution.

Stakeholder-orientated framework, analyzing ethical problems on the basis of whom they affect: consumers, competitors, society as a whole •