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This is the Conversation Forum for Talking Point: Ethical Consumerism << The cellophane problem Trying hard - not always succeeding >> Subject: Ethics vs Consumerism Posted Jun 23, 2003 by Frankie Roberto   Posting 1 'Ethical consumerism' is taking the 'let's make things fairer' idea from the wrong approach. Consumerism is unethical and unfair because that's the best way for companies to make the most money. Poor countries are willing (or forced) to allow companies from rich companies to employ their local people on minimal wages, without paying tax, in return for minimal infrastructre investment and the perceived benefits that this will bring. Employing people fairly costs. Manufacturing in a way that protects the environment costs. Products that last a long time and don't require constant re-purchasing cost. With profit as the only incentive none of this will ever really change. The Fair Trade movement has good intentions. The idea is that the consumer's freedom to choose between products is power to force companies to change. But consumers don't have that much freedom; prices, availability, location and marketing dictate how we spend. We also know most of what goes on before the product hits the shelf, and so the information on which you can base choices is limited, usually to what it says on the packet. So even if being 'ethical' does lead to more people buying your products, companies will soon cotton on, making all kinds of claims about the 'good' things they do - in short another marketting gimmick which allows you to charge more and sell more for token effort increased fairness. Ethical Consumerism won't change the world - the most it can hope for is a tiny dent. To believe anything more is misleading. Read the First Reply to this Posting Subject: Ethics vs Consumerism Posted Jun 24, 2003 by fords (vegetarians DON'T eat fish!) This is a reply to this Posting   Posting 2 Well said, Frankie. It seems to me that like anything else in this crazy world, good intentions are so often overshadowed by their greedy opposites. However, I would like to congratulate a certain supermarket (the one with bees in the adverts) for their approach to fair trade and ethical products, by promoting their customers to buy them but without the usual gimmicks. Well done! Conversation list Most of the content on h2g2 is created by h2g2's Researchers, who are members of the public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of the BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of any external sites referenced. In the event that you consider anything on this page to be in breach of the site's House Rules, please click on the relevant button to alert our Moderation Team. Conversation list

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