Ethical Consumers: Do they matter for Marketing?

Should marketers care about ethical consumers? The short answer is yes, but it comes from two sides. One is the practical point that a growing number of consumers in the UK are looking for more ethical product and service options. So you don’t want to miss out on this particular revenue. On the other hand, marketers should care from an internal quality perspective. Marketing has a bad rap coming from the traditional advertising industry and so it’s vital that quality marketers reclaim the narrative and create a better sector for themselves, their colleagues and their customers. Today I am going to explore the rise of ‘ethical’ consumption and what that means for marketers, but also products and services as a whole.

What are ethical consumers?

If you search for what an ethical consumer is, you usually see a broad definition of it: buying products that were ethically produced and/or which are not harmful to the environment and society. But because everyone has different values and perspectives of what ethical means, I would say a better definition would be that ethical consumers consider the full lifecycle of a product/service and how that impacts the world around us. This could be from many perspectives;

• An environmental perspective – What is the carbon footprint of this bottle of wine? How can I recycle this packaging?
• From an animal cruelty or vegan perspective – Does this body lotion contain animal derived products? Did they test this mascara on animals?
• From a human rights perspective – Are the producers being paid a fair wage? Are the retail workers paid a living wage? Does the company endorse or donate to causes I agree or disagree with?

And it could be a combination of all of these from production through to disposal of a product or end of a service.

The Rise of the Ethical Consumer

Ethical consumption has seen a continual rise over the last two decades in the UK, increasing four-fold in twenty years between 1999 – 2018. The main increases have been in the food and drink sector as well as green home initiatives. Eco travel and transport had seen some increases in the 2014 – 2016 period but slightly declined after 2017. Charitable and community investing and personal care products have remained fairly steady but it fluctuates throughout the year. The projections of ethical spending show an expected continual rise from the 2019 Ethical Consumerism report but what impact has the pandemic had on this growth…

The Effects of the Pandemic on Ethical Consumption

In the 2020 Ethical Consumerism report, the introductory summary states:

For the end of 2019, we report that ethical consumer spending and finance in the UK reached record levels at some £98bn. This Report, however, mainly focuses on how the pandemic in 2020 has impacted people’s predisposition to continue to shop ethically. The big winners appear to be shopping locally, reducing energy consumption and cycling more, with public transport set to be the big loser, at least in the short term. In terms of food shopping, Fairtrade and Organic have also out-performed the market and look set to continue to benefit post-pandemic.

The time in lockdown has produced a more conscious consumer, especially with a focus on people’s home life and a new way of working for many. While it should be noted that many people have suffered economically during the pandemic, those with stable incomes have been able to use extra savings or more available disposable income to spend on better quality, ethical products and services. The reduction of public transport usage is to be expected however it appears to have been replaced with walking and cycling over car usage which is beneficial to planet and health in the long run.

Marketing to Ethical Consumers

The stats above are surely enough to convince marketers that they need to consider ethical consumers in their campaigns. Focusing on the ethical values, practices and products that your company or companies offer will help you create connections with your consumers. However, the issue does not necessarily lie with marketers, unless they themselves are producing the products. It is up to businesses as a whole and those who decide on their direction to invest in more sustainable and ethical practices. If, as a marketer, you work for a company that does not do anything to advance certain causes, you should not market products as such. If you do market products as such this will manifest as greenwashing, woke washing or the more general term; lying. Marketing to an ethical consumer audience should come from a place of honesty, transparency and responsibility.

Ethical Marketing with Middleton Marketing

I have always considered myself an ethical marketer and I will continue to strive to better my practices both personally and professionally. Recently I signed up to The Ethical Move Pledge. The Ethical Move is an organisation that is making the ethical move to create a new marketing standard based on transparency, trust, and honesty. If you are interested in choosing a marketer that puts ethics first, get in touch. Let’s grow your business together.