...Introduction As the world’s population continues to grow and the middle class is on the rise, we have the issue and responsibility to grow in our ethical and sustainable practices in business. Conventional business models are no longer sustainable and as government regulations continue and the consumer speaks out against unsustainable and unethical practices, business will need to alter their goals toward a sustainable model. The main focus of business is of course profit but in order to make the profit, there needs to be standards that are in place to promote and sustain the consumer’s interest in ecology, ethics, and the economy. Specifically, business needs to be innovative and try to create their products with the minimal amount of environmental impact. In addition, the business needs to be liable for the ethical treatment of all employees including the employees of their suppliers and the sustainability of their suppliers. A company cannot claim to be sustainable and yet their suppliers are causing destruction to the environment or becoming wrapped up in ethical violations of their employees. The following will review the sustainability and ethical practices of two leading brands, General Motors (GM) and Nissan. General Motors is based out of Detroit, Michigan, and produces brands that include Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, and others. Nissan is headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. These two companies are fairly different in focus. General Motors relies...
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...Broj 2 / Književnost i kultura / Tania Lewis - The Ethical Turn in Commodity Culture: Consumption, Care and the Other Tania Lewis - The Ethical Turn in Commodity Culture: Consumption, Care and the Other In a small courty ard at the Univ ersity of Melbourne, there is an unprepossessing, somewhat makeshift looking outdoor café called KereKere. The coffee on offer is organic, Fair Trade, Rainforest alliance-branded and sustainable: a list of options we'v e increasingly come to ex pect ev en in corporate café chains such as Starbucks. But at this café, customers are also asked to decide how the profits from that sale are distributed ev ery time they buy a coffee. As customers are handed their order, they are also presented with play ing cards that allow them to choose from a list of causes where the café's profits will go. The café thus operates in the spirit of ‘kerekere', a Fijian custom in which a relativ e or neighbour can request something that is needed and it must be willingly giv en with no ex pectation of repay ment. The café's y oung ethically minded owner sees this process as fostering ‘a culture that promotes community wellbeing'. At this café, the traditional economic ex change associated with the purchase of a cup of coffee has been subtly mov ed into other territories through the introduction of questions of gift giv ing, and of responsibility , care and ev en lov e (as we see here, the café's logo is a coffee cup with a series of hearts rising from...
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...Management School, University of Sheffield, UK ABSTRACT The ‘attitude–behaviour gap’ or ‘values–action gap’ is where 30% of consumers report that they are very concerned about environmental issues but they are struggling to translate this into purchases. For example, the market share for ethical foods remains at 5 per cent of sales. This paper investigates the purchasing process for green consumers in relation to consumer technology products in the UK. Data were collected from 81 self-declared green consumers through in depth interviews on recent purchases of technology products. A green consumer purchasing model and success criteria for closing the gap between green consumers’ values and their behaviour are developed. The paper concludes that incentives and single issue labels (like the current energy rating label) would help consumers concentrate their limited efforts. More fundamentally, ‘being green’ needs time and space in people’s lives that is not available in increasingly busy lifestyles. Implications for policy and business are proposed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. Received 12 December 2007; revised 30 June 2008; accepted 4 July 2008 Keywords: ethical; green; environmental; sustainable; consumer; purchase; consumption; behaviour Introduction VERY...
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...Ethical Consumerism: Opportunities and Challenges Globally Your full name Your ID no. Unit code and name Lecturer name Assignment # Completion Date Emergence of new business concepts resulted due to global pressures. This result is in the form of business ethics and corporate social responsibility. Besides economic and environmental diligence, these concepts have become a marketing instrument to evaluate the performance of businesses. They are now designing products that are ethical and consider factors like health, safety and morality in their offerings (Hamelin et al. 2012). Similarly, consumers are the ultimate users of the products. They make a huge influence on the offerings by the concerns by accepting it or boycotting it. They attempt to bring changes in the society through their purchasing decisions. So the special market segment could be seen as the "ethical consumers"(Deng 2011). Thus, ethical consumerism could be defined as the ethical concern about the organizations and their products and services by choosing or not choosing a product or service that meets or fails certain ethical standards respectively. There are many aspects and matters included in the ethical considerations. These include safe environmental concerns, fair trade, animal welfare, labor standards and health concerns (Cho and Krasser 2011). The consumers reject the unethical offerings by the organizations through boycott or buycott. Boycott refers to the negative ethical purchase behavior...
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...2014 8/1/2014 Impact of Ethical Consumerism on Businesses; Sainsbury’s as case study Contents Executive Summary 2 Introduction 2 Ethical Consumerism Types or Categories 2 Sainsbury’s as a case Study 4 Opinion Survey on Consumerism 4 Conclusion and Recommendations 5 Bibliography 6 Executive Summary In a ethnicity of plenty, where organisation are selling very similar products at almost the same price, and of the same quality to even the similar consumers, These consumers are free of charge to make use of other, ethical criteria in making their choice between opposite options. There are definitely different levels of ethical consumption - with some people being highly morals determined, while some are just getting on a generally satisfactory bandwagon. The reality still that there is a rising crowd of ethical consumers which need to be taking seriously. Because now it is very easy to be an ethical consumer The Internet, press, and magazines are all spreading company’s information about where and how their products and services are being generated. Blogs and customer help desk are also help customers who by one way or the other had terrible experience or who have important inside information to obtain immediate international exposure. Exposing unethical conduct and practices is a definite title for journalists, so business organisation is under more enquiry than before. Businesses like Sainsbury’s are carefully but continuously examining how well they are...
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...everything they do, execution of principles and taking ownership and accountability for results, success and failure and by having social stewardship and demonstrating good corporate citizenship and responsibility to all constituencies all encompasses the overall tone of the how they would like the public to see them. (Farfan) Considering that the Social Progress Index's ultimate mission is global advancement, it is difficult to dismiss any of Dunkin' Brand's values as they all are relatively important to guide the company in achieving overall progress in numerous areas. However, their goals of "Integrity" and "Fairness" are perhaps best demonstrated in Dunkin' Brand’s practice of "Fair Trade". Fair trade buying is a specific type of ethical consumer behavior. Fair trade incorporates fair prices for the products of farmers in developing countries. In essence, fair trade means buying products...
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...as a result of a company’s actions, those returns are not sustainable. The profits are inextricably tied to the prosperity of its consumers, customers, employees, communities and society. PepsiCo has three pillars of sustainability: Human, Environmental and Talent. These three pillars form the foundation of what they call Performance with Purpose, and they help to drive his financial results. PepsiCo stabilish relations with NGOs to share many common objectives and can find more opportunities to join hands. Also they are achieving progress through sustainable agricultural practices, innovative methods of water conservation, more nutritious product offerings and more diverse workplaces. * The third point to try is economic, legal, ethical and philanthropy elements of CSR....
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...Global Responsibility Fairtrade standards are designed to support the sustainable development of small producer organizations and agricultural workers in the poorest countries in the world in order to sustain the proper fluctuation in the economy. (Freund) With more companies outsourcing production to third world countries, the issue of ethical treatment of workers and their families, becomes of growing concern. With a diverse western culture and companies spreading to countries such as China and Latin America, companies are faced with issues of upholding the traditions and cultures of other countries while still sustaining their annual revenue. Latin America Latin America, a country known for its potent and fertile soil, is often taken advantage of by larger and more highly-developed countries because of its vast landscape and their lower tax rates. With the growing spotlight on moral and ethical business practices, the issue of fair trading has now come down to company’s marketing ploys. Companies, such as Target and Starbucks, use their fair trade practices to market themselves to more environmentally centered people. The issue of fair trade practices in Latin America stems from the countries past issues with unethical treatment, pay, and conditions for workers. According to the Stanford Social, the history of fair trade goes all the way back to the origins of bartering for goods back in the 16th century used while colonizing countries and trading with the indigenous...
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...health and well-being, philanthropy, workplace environment and ethical sourcing. The long term objectives of DPS are measurable, understandable and motivating. The long term objective of DPS is to improve the environmental and social performance in 5 year time and its clearly state what will achieved and when it will be achieved. This objective also motivates their employee due to the safety working environment and they will work hard to help the company to achieve the long term objective. In environmental sustainability, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group aim to improve the energy efficiency by 10%, reduce water usage by 10% and recycle 80% of solid waste by 2015. In order to improve the health and well-bring of the society, DPS aim to produce more product that reduce the calories and able to improve the nutrition of the consumer in year 2015. In the area of corporate philanthropy, DPS aim to contribute a total of 100,000 volunteer hours and attain an annual giving level of $10 million in charitable cash donations, with the majority of support focused on fit and active lifestyles, environmental sustainability, and emergency relief and community celebrations. DPS also aim to reduce 25% of the injury rate of the employees by providing training courses. In the ethical sourcing, DPS aim to conduct annual third-party risk assessments of all suppliers and audit any high-risk suppliers to ensure full compliance with our Ethical Sourcing Code of...
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...The Body Shop, founded England in 1970, manufactures cosmetics that uses natural-ingredients that is ethical and free from animal testing. The Body Shop places great importance on ethical stances such as using natural ingredients that are not tested on animals, the use of fair trade in the cosmetic industry and has a strong Corporate Social Responsibility and is actively involved in community activities. The Body Shop revolves its social and environmental campaigns around its five core values namely Defending Human Rights, Supporting Community Trade, Protecting the Planet, Against Animal Testing and Promoting Self-Esteem (The Body Shop 2012). a) How well are they handling this? Defending Human Rights The Body Shop has a strong belief in the welfare of people, having a strong concern and respect for their heart and soul. They began their awareness campaign for HIV and AIDS since 1993, raising over £1m for the Staying Alive Foundation (Rawat 2010). The campaign against domestic violence attained £2.5m across 50 over countries by 2007. They also have awareness and funding campaigns to support the fight against human trafficking (The Body Shop 2012). Supporting Community Trade In 2007, The Body Shop was given a ‘Big Tick’ award by Business in the Community for their Community and Ethical Trade programmes (The Body Shop 2009). Protecting the Planet In 2008, The Body Shop substituted their carrier bags with 100% recycled bags (The Body Shop 2012). To prevent waste from the...
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...Name: Institutional Affiliation: Date: Ethical Consumerism Report Executive summary Ethical consumerism refers to personal consumption where the choice is informed by a given ethical issue, for instance, social justice, animal welfare, human rights or the environment. Ethical consumerism attempts to reaffirm the moral aspect of consumer choice through emphasizing the links between consumption and production, locally and globally. The main agenda of the ethical consumers is enhancing their well-being by practicing a purchasing behavior that avoids exploiting or harming animals, humans or the environment. There are some barriers that hinder ethical consumerism, and they include lack of knowledge, lack of information, money, corporate ethics not top of mind, as well as other concerns like brand and quality of products (Littler, 2009). Introduction Over the last one or two decades, more and more individuals around the globe, basically in industrialized nations, have become more aware as well as more informed of the origins of the products they purchase on daily basis, the buying practices and policies if the shops that they visit as well as the principles and policies of the serves that they purchase. This increased awareness as well as knowledge is influencing the consumer practices, and this may be the difference between an individual purchasing a certain service or product or not. Basically, ethical consumerism is a type of consumer activism since it involves consumers...
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...AN ANALYTICAL BUSINESS REPORT ON WHAT ETHICAL CONSUMERISM MEANS FOR BUSINESSES Name Course Professor/ Tutor University City/ State Date Executive Summary This paper presents an analytical business report on ethical consumerism. The aim of this assignment is to reveal the meaning of ethical consumption in markets. To this end, Adidas Company is critically reviewed. Adidas manufactures sportswear and equipment. This report uses a survey design where a questionnaire or an opinion survey is the data collection instrument. Ethical consumerism is influenced by several factors some of which are, the quality of the products, advertisements, brand image and the moral value that users attach to different products. Corporate social responsibility and appropriate advertising are some of the activities that improve ethical consumerism. The data collected in this study is analyzed and presented in tables and figures. Contents Executive Summary 2 List of Tables 4 List of Figures 5 1.0 Background of the Study 6 1.1 Introduction 6 2.0 Literature Review 6 2.1 Overview of Ethical consumerism 6 2.2 Review of Adidas Company 9 2.2.1 Adidas Mission, Vision and Values 10 3.0 Methodology 12 4.0 Results of Survey 12 4.1 Response rate 12 4.2 Price of Adidas products 13 4.3 Quality of Adidas products 15 4.4 Brand Image of Adidas 16 4.5 Convenience for purchasing Adidas products...
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...discussing the ethics of consumerism, it is important to develop an- in depth understanding of the history of the subject before having the discussion of the moralistic opinions about. The video The Story of Stuff provided the background necessary to understand the reasons why there are so many issues with consumerism. The argument in the video is that the United States has become a consumerist society since the early 1900’s. A consumerist society is defined as one directed largely by the accumulation and consumption of material goods (O’Shaughnessy and O’Shaughnessy, 2002). This consumerism was said to have peaked during the 1950’s when it is said that happiness and contentment with life was at its greatest. Today, things have changed significantly. The adoption of modern marketing practices has led to the emergence of consumerist societies in the swelling middle classes (Chan and Cui, 2004). On one hand, this means that more people are earning enough money to spend. However, the increase in the spending power of the middle class had led to greater demand for consumer goods and thus the resources that are used to make them. The video discussed how much marketing has played a role in the way that people advocate for consumerism. Those who advocate against consumerism stated that social progress and economic development have caused contemporary marketing practice to contribute to a consumerist or materialistic society. The main issue with consumerism seems to be the fact...
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...Table of Contents ABSTRACT 3 1. INTRODUCTION 4 2. DEFINITION ETHICAL CONSUMERISM 5 3. BODY SHOP ETHICAL CONSUMERISM 6 4. MARKETING RESEARCH SURVEY QUESTIONAIRE 10 5. CONCLUSION 13 6. REFERENCE LIST 15 ABSTRACT A business intervention and technology advances the urge for ethic and corporate responsibility has gained vast attention. Consumers are more educated about what impact products have on human, animal and environment protection, hence the urge for ethical consumerism increases. In this report the ethical consumerism of the Body shop who is a subsidiary of LOreal groups was examined, critically analysed. Some of the various products that are categorised as ethical products are identified and discussed. The approaches that were used by Body shop to becoming more socially conscious business, linking these elements with the ethics and values of Body shop. A short survey was conducted to gain understanding of consumer buying behaviour was carried out to give a transparent view on the consumer buying behaviour toward Body shop. Finally a conclusion is made on the findings from the research conducted using the annual report of Body shop and other related articles to design an overall perception of the findings. 1. INTRODUCTION Body shop is one of the leading skin and hair care product distributer in the United Kingdom with more than 2,600 store in 66 markets globally selling over 1,200 products with Anita Roddick at the head of its...
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...GERMAN UNIVERSITY IN CAIRO - MARKETING DEPARTMENT Antecedents To Consumerism The Role Of Marketing By Nabila Youssri El-Assar 22-3384 To Dr. Noha El-Bassiouny On 10/12/2012 1 Literature Review Outline 1. Introduction 2. Consumerism in perspective 2.1. Definitions 2.1.1. First stream of thought: Benign Definitions 2.1.1.1. 2.1.1.2. 2.1.1.3. First definition: Manipulative Techniques Second definition: Customer is King Third definition: Globalization 2.1.2. Second stream of thought: Destructive Definition 2.1.2.1. Evolution Of The Consumer Culture 2.2. Implications Of The Benign Consumerism Definitions On Marketing Strategy 3. The Consumer Culture And The Consumption Society 3.1. Distinguishing Definition 3.2. Conditions For A Consumption Society 3.3. Unhealthy Pillars/Consequences Of The Consumption Society 3.3.1. Materialism 3.3.2. Compensatory consumption: The "Shopaholic" Phenomenon 3.3.3. I Shop Therefore I Am 3.3.4. Living Beyond Your Means 4. Antecedents To The Unhealthy Consumption Pillars 4.1. Intrinsic/Personal Influences 4.1.1. Personality Characteristics: 4.1.1.1. 4.1.1.2. 4.1.1.3. Self-Monitoring Personality Trait Innovativeness, Fashion Orientation And Opinion Leadership Ethical orientation 4.1.2. Psychological characteristics 4.1.2.1. 4.1.2.2. 4.1.2.3. 4.1.2.4. Co-morbidity and the Joint cycle of compulsive consumption Obsessive thoughts and Risk Taking Propensity Low self esteem Dealing with Negative Emotions and life challenges 4.2. Societal...
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