ETHICAL CONSUMERISM:

ATTITUDE, REALITY AND THE

BEHAVIOURAL GAP
1
S M Nazmuz Sakib (Orchid- https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9310-3014) (sakibpedia@gmail.com)

1
Author Biography
S M Nazmuz Sakib is an eLearning expert and done more than 500 MOOCs or Massive Open
Online Courses and experienced as an instructor in sites like Udemy. He has completed his BSc
in Business Studies from School of Business And Trade, Switzerland with CGPA 4 in the scale
of 4 and 97.06% grade marks on an average. He is also a certified Google IT Support
Professional, Google Data Analytics Professional and IBM Customer Engagement Specialist
Professional.
1 1
Graduate of BSc in Business Studies Student of LLB(Hon’s)
School of Business And Trade Department of Law
Pilatusstrasse 6003, 6003 Luzern, Dhaka International University
Switzerland House # 4, Road # 1, Block - F, Dhaka 1213
1 1
Student of BSc in Civil Engineering Student of BSc in Physiotherapy
Department of Civil Engineering Faculty of Medicine
Sonargaon University University of Dhaka
147/I, Green Road, Panthapath, Dhaka Nilkhet Rd, Dhaka 1000

ABSTRACT
It has been predicted that the exam method is the focal a part of the exploration, which
predominantly underscore on giving an define to the scientist to collect records from numerous
reliable sources. There are drastically substantial varieties of techniques in addition to plans
(subjective assembly and quantitative overview) via which records is gathered For the proposed
study, the analyst has carried out an overview because the records assortment, which has been
identified beforehand. This means that the analyst has applied an immediate quantitative manner
to address lead the exploration cycle. What`s more, the prominent respondents are selected in
keeping with the pertinence of the exam theme. Because of the momentum pandemic
circumstance, the analyst led the research via web-primarily based totally stages, for example,
email, which assisted the professional with saving a big quantity of time.
Keywords: Ethical consumerism, Consumer behaviour, Psychology, Consumer psychology

1 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Overview

Notably, the concept of ethical consumption and/or ethical consumerism is considered the

overall consumer behaviour to buy products, which are produced using a code of ethics and

moral principles. Moreover, this term mainly covers all periods of the life cycle of consumption

from purchase to use and disposal of a product (Gummerus, Liljander, and Sihlman, 2017). The

idea of “ethical” shopping is based on how people prefer buying products, which are

manufactured while giving preference to worldly principles and moral values. For example, it

has been appraised that many people today prefer buying electric cars over conventional motor

vehicles as electric cars are although more expensive. Still, they are eco-friendly, due to which

they are not perilous to environmental sustainability. In a similar way, many individuals also

prefer buying fake leather and fake fur apparel to reduce the extent of animal hunting for the

sake of business. Nonetheless, the notion of eating vegetables instead of meat and the trend of

buying organic cosmetics, which is not tested on animals, has turned out to be a major trend

across the world. In this way, it has become evident

An investigation led by Yoon (2019) further proclaimed that ethical consumption has

turned out to be a social phenomenon that reflects people’s growing concerns of people in

developed countries about the planet’s environmental and social problems. The phenomenon

finds its expression in the increased interest of buyers in the origin and composition of the

purchased product or service, environmental and social conditions of production, social

responsibility of the producer’s company, methods of disposal of goods, and so on (Zollo, 2020).

Ethical consumption is expressed in the deliberate selection of goods and services that have been

produced, processed and delivered in an ethical manner, that is, with minimal harm to people,

their producers, animals and the environment. When consumed ethically, information about

environmental and social properties can significantly impact purchasing decisions.

Apart from this, it also believed that mass media and digital technologies, especially the

Internet, significantly impact ethical consumption popularity. Consumers react sharply to the

information regularly published in the media about corporations that activists have caught in the

use of child labour or environmental pollution. According to Carrington, Zwick, and Neville

(2016), the three most famous reputational scandals involved Adidas, Zara, and/or Primar's

unethical behaviour. These scandals, which received wide publicity in the media, caused a

massive boycott of manufactured goods and forced corporations to change their behaviour and

development strategies. Other than this, it has also been appraised that the dissemination of

information on the Internet also helps raise consumer awareness of the purchased goods and

services’ ethical properties. In this concern, this research aims to focus on the concept of ethical

consumers while assessing the attitude of consumers towards this phenomenon and the reality

behind this entire paradigm. More importantly, this research also focuses on appraising the

behavioural gap, which significantly exists in the notion of ethical consumerism.

1.2 Background

The history of ethical consumption has its origins in consumer societies and consumer

cooperatives, in which people united to protect their consumer interests (Davies and Gutsche,

2016). The term ethical consumption was popularised in the late 20 th century. The area of interest

of such communities was mainly the quality of goods, informing consumers about the properties
of goods, product labelling requirements, etc. (Ganglmair-Wooliscroft and Wooliscroft, 2019).

Nonetheless, it is also notable that many people are still unfamiliar with the paradigm of ethical

consumerism. In contrast, few proclaim that only a fraction of people in society gives

consideration to ethical consumption. In this regard, this section of the research will appraise the

entire phenomenon of ethical consumption from three different lenses based on the paradigm of

realism, sustainability, and influence of ethical consumption in society.

1.2.1 Is ethical consumerism a reality? Do consumers always shop ethically?

Since the late 1990s, activism against transnational corporations has begun to escalate

globally. This phenomenon is based on the significance of the impact that such companies’

business practices have on the interests of millions of people, even those who do not work for

these companies and are not consumers of the goods. There is a heightened interest in the

corporate social responsibility of companies in society (Kushwah, Dhir, and Sagar, 2019).

The early 21st century has been marked by an intensification in community activists’

attention to the observance of the rights of workers who produce goods for multinational

corporations in developing countries. Moreover, many companies or their contractors have been

convicted of exploiting labour in sweatshops, using child labour, and harsh working conditions.

The consumer boycott was announced to such companies, thanks to which, in many cases, the

working conditions of the workers were improved (Zollo, et al., 2018).

Recently, a movement of “green consumption” has become prevalent, which is mainly

originated on the impact of the production and use of goods on the environment. This type of

activism consists of selecting goods, the production of which has a minimal impact on the state

of the environment (Zollo, et al., 2018)

 In The Global Market as an Ethical System, philosopher and ethicist Yoon (2019)

revealed that every purchase decision contains a moral choice. In this way, it can be articulated

that ethical consumption mainly extends both to the choice of goods and services and to the

choice of companies that provide them. Depending on the buyer’s moral principles, he may pay

attention to various ethical aspects of the company or product. Moreover, Zollo, et al.

(2018) used the following categories when determining the ethics rating of a company or

product:

 Environment

o Environmental reporting; use of atomic energy; impact on climate

change; pollution and toxic substances; reproducible resource use

 Animals:

o Animal testing; industrial livestock production; other animal rights

 People

o Human (local) rights; workers’ rights; management of contractors and suppliers

(respecting workers’ rights in contractor factories); irresponsible marketing; supply of

goods to the armed forces/sale of weapons;

 Politics

o Genetic Engineering; the announced boycott of the company’s products; activity

in politics (lobbying for laws, donations to political parties); anti-social finance (tax

evasion, directors’ salaries too high).

Consumer boycotts are one way of showing consumers’ attitudes towards harmful

business practices of companies (Yoon, 2019). However, such a measure is not always supported

by activists, since a consumer boycott of the company’s goods can lead to a decrease in
production volumes and, as a result, to a reduction in jobs and a deterioration in the economic

situation of the region in which the goods are produced. However, it is also a notable fact that not

all consumers are influenced or stimulated by the notion of ethical consumption. In fact, many

people still are unaware of this term. Kamenidou, et al. (2019) further claimed that ethical

consumption is gaining a higher consideration and value among consumers in the developed

countries only.

1.2.2 In-Depth Analysis of Ethical Consumption, Sustainability

Today, ethical consumption refers to the purchase of goods and services, the production

and consumption of which does not harm people, animals and the environment. In this way, it

can be stated that ethical consumption is a type of consumer behaviour or consumer activism

(Yoon, 2019). The term covers all stages of the life cycle of consumption from purchase to use

and disposal of a product. The idea of “ethical” shopping is based on the principles of “voting

with the rubble”. The fact of purchase is an expression of the consumer’s approval of the seller’s

behaviour.

Hosta and Žabkar (2016) indicated that the concept of ethical consumption is a social

phenomenon that responds to people's growing concerns in developed countries about the

planet’s environmental and social problems. The phenomenon finds its expression in the

increased interest of buyers in the origin and composition of the purchased product or service,

environmental and social conditions of production, social responsibility of the manufacturer’s

company, methods of disposal of goods, and so on. Ethical consumption is expressed in the

deliberate selection of goods and services that have been produced, processed and delivered in an

ethical manner, that is, with minimal harm to people, their producers, animals and the
environment. When consumed ethically, information about environmental and social properties

can significantly impact purchasing decisions (Kamenidou, et al., 2018).

The first principle of ethical consumption is considered not to buy unnecessary things,

which are not sustainable (Zollo, 2020). In History of Things, a critique of overconsumption,

activist Lee, (2017) revealed 70% of things bought in the United States are thrown away within

eight months. Such consumer behaviour seems unethical since all the resources invested in the

manufacture of goods are wasted. Also, the disposal of the discarded material harms the

environment. The history of ethical consumption has its origins in consumer societies and

consumer cooperatives, in which people united to protect their consumer interests. Hence, the

primary zone of interest of such communities was mainly the quality of goods, informing

consumers about the properties of goods, product labelling requirements, etc. The demand for

ethical products has resonated with many manufacturers of goods and services. Many

multinational companies are trying to meet this demand with the development and production,

and marketing of new products.

1.2.3 How often do ethical consumers buy ethically abided products

The ethical use of resources is a critical aspect of ethical consumption. This category

includes, for example, the use of alternative energy sources, although in this area, the end

consumers do not always have a choice (Lee, 2017). One of the possible measures for end-users

is the insulation of houses to save time. The same category includes purchasing devices with a

high energy saving class, the installation of meters for water and gas consumption.

Today, according to research, ethical consumers represent a significant market

segment. For example, a study by Lee (2017) showed that a third of consumers surveyed in five

European countries are willing to pay extra for ethical brands' products/services. An
investigation led by Zollo (2020) revealed that developed European nations mainly exhibit that

34% of respondents are “active ethical consumers”. According to the same survey, 62% of

consumers believe that it is not enough for companies to harm. However, it is also notable that

they also need to support communities' development in developing countries.

In addition to product labelling, ratings from analytical agencies provide information on

companies and products’ ethics. Such ratings are prepared, for example, by analytical agencies

“Innovest, Calvert, Domini, IRRC, TIAA-CREF and KLD Analytics, Bloomberg and

Reuters. The Ethical Consumer magazine” are engaged in preparing a detailed multi-criteria

rating based on the data of the listed agencies and publications in the media. Ethical shopping

guides can be purchased, for example, on the Ethical Consumer Guide website, including

smartphone applications.

Zollo (2020) ethical revealed that ethical companies may not always produce ethical

products that are positioned as ethical. Nowadays, companies often try to reach the ethical

consumer segment by introducing an “ethical” product or an entire line of “ethical” products to

the market. Simultaneously, the rest of the company’s activities may not meet the criteria of

“ethics.” Nonetheless, it is also notable that regardless of the growing research on the notion of

ethical consumption, people still give less consideration to this phenomenon while shopping. The

respective statement can be further approved by reviewing the study of Lee (2017), in which it

has been explained that only one of 20 people across the United Kingdom give preference to

ethical consumption. This mainly suggests that people are still required to be given awareness of

the importance of ethical consumerism to protect environmental sustainability.

On the other hand, it is also important to note that the crisis, which has been developed in

the world in connection with the coronavirus pandemic, has launched irrational consumer
behaviour programs - people began to buy food and goods in reserve. Zollo (2017) further

revealed that people have now become more conscious regarding the products they consume. In

other words, people are now moving towards the use of organic products, which are eco-friendly.

In this way, it can be stated that the attitude and behaviour of individuals are now changing. As a

result, the trend of ethical consumerism is growing exponentially in the global consumer market.

1.2.4 Factors Influencing the Ethical Consumption

Notably, several factors tend to influence and/or stimulate consumers related to the

consumption of products and the social responsibility of the manufacturer’s company, plays an

important role. Since the late 1990s, many public and private organisations have emerged

to verify and label products ethically produced through product labelling. Hence, it has been

assumed that product labelling tends to influence consumers' buying decisions as people tend to

check the ingredients and production methods mentioned on the products they intend to buy. The

respective labelling of products available in the market enables consumers to make ethically

informed choices when shopping (Zollo, 2020). Moreover, the following organisations uses

certain standards, criteria, and requirements for products and companies. The following

organisations are most commonly found on European nations' products include, Ecocert,

Fairtrade, Forest Stewardship Council Organic Food, Dolphin Friendly, and Rainforest Alliance

(Lee, 2017).

On the other hand, it is also notable that the main factor that stimulates people to move

towards ethical consumption is based on improving health as conventional products are

developed using unsafe methods. For instance, inorganic food often contains chemical

ingredients, which are harmful to health. Hence, the desire to become healthy enforce people to

implicate the behaviour of ethical consumption. Apart from this, humanity's notion also
encourages people to become ethical consumers as many people refuse the notion of animal

testing, hunting, child labour, environmental pollution, etc. Hence, they are stimulated to focus

on adopting ethical consumerism to ensure that the products they are buying are not tested on

animals, and the production company has not got engaged in exploiting labours and/or natural

resources.

1.3 Aims and Objectives

The primary aim of this research is to focus on understanding the concept of ethical

consumerism while appraising the attitude of consumers towards this phenomenon and

behavioural gap that exists in the promotion of ethical consumerism. Some of the crucial

objectives, which are crafted in order to achieve the intended research aim are listed below:

 To determine the concept of ethical consumption

 To assess factors that influence to adopt the behaviour of ethical consumption

 To highlight strategies that can be applied to promote ethical consumerism in the market.

1.4 Research Question

This research aims to address the following questions:

 What is the reality of ethical consumption?

 Which factors influence consumers to adopt the behaviour of ethical consumption?

 What strategies can be applied to promote ethical consumerism in the market?

1.5 Significance of Study

It is a noticeable fact that the concept of ethical consumerism has still not gained

popularity among the masses. Hence, many people are considerably unaware of the importance

of integrating this behavioural attribute of ethical consumption to protect the environmental

sustainability and ensure people's health and safety. In this regard, this research aims first to
assess the current status and trends, which stimulate the notion of ethical consumption. In

addition to this, the research also emphasises on illustrating the course of actions, which can be

integrated to promote the concept of ethical consumption to protect the environment, species,

and natural resources. Hence, the findings obtained from this research study can be implicated by

different public and private sector organisations, particularly the non-governmental organisations

and production companies to understand how they can promote ethical consumption globally.
 2 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

This article aims to analyse ethics and, consequently, its application in consumer

relations. It is necessary to keep in mind that ethics started from philosophical studies and, only

with the passage of time, it gained importance until it became an autonomous discipline.

Initially, ethics basically tried to impose limits on human beings, in the sense that it is necessary

for each one to do what he or she must do morally (Vitell, 2015). To this end, we sought to

investigate within consumer relations, how the right to information and education are extremely

important to raise consumer awareness about the use of products and services and that can serve

as an instrument of social policy in the application of ethics in consumer relations.

In a second step, we analyse the application of business ethics, as well as its positive and

negative reflexes about the inquiries about current customs and morals, however, so that these

reflections are of value so that everyone can know what the ethics adopted by the company and if

it is necessary to institutionalize this morality (Vitell, 2015). That is, that all those who are part

of that company know what attitude to take in a given decision-making. In this way, business

ethics, when adopted in an institutionalized way, becomes the true and healthy modus operandi

of that company.

2.2 Conceptualising Consumer Ethics

The idea to be evaluated is that, starting from the constitutional and legal innovations and

the weightings of constitutional principles, the Consumer Law it becomes possible through the

application of the technique of systematic hermeneutics, using the right to information,

education, not only as a consumerist tool, but also as a tutelage and social policy institute

regarding the application of the study of ethics in consumer relations (Caruana, Carrington and
Chatzidakis, 2016). The relevance of the theme stems from the worsening of such principles that

are weakened today due to the individualism and exacerbated consumerism that rules the

contemporary world and end up valuing personal advantages to the detriment of the community.

Therefore, the study of Ethics seeks the general meanings of right and wrong, just unjust,

adequate or inadequate, in short, it is the reflection before the human conduct itself, not

establishing conduct or norms, but philosophizing before the value of them. That said, it is not

incorrect to affirm that Ethics also has as its objective the search for justifications for the rules

and norms constructed by morality and law. This reflection before human action is what

fundamentally characterizes ethics.

The search for a more equitable relationship between consumers and companies requires

the establishment of ethical standards of behaviour for both parties. The study by Lo et al (2020)

has stated that the assumption of consumer vulnerability is no longer the same, today the

consumer is better informed and has a much greater arsenal of possibilities to defend himself.

Furthermore, the reversal of the burden of proof is almost immediate in favour of the consumer.

The study by Vitell et al., (2016), however, defended the maintenance of the principle of

vulnerability, citing that behind it is the idea that the consumer can only assume that a product

does not hurt, that it is adequate, etc. Some changes to the code can be made, but this principle is

fundamental to protect the consumer.

The ethics of consumption puts under moral control all the numerous manifestations of

the phenomenon of consumption. This ethics has always been, on the one hand, the product of

the projection of the existing system of social relations of a particular society, and on the other,

the actualization of the ideological and religious ideas of its time (Arli, 2017). Consumer ethics
have always implicitly reflected the structure of a particular society. Each social stratum had its

own consumer ethics.

Factors influencing ethical or unethical consumer behaviour can be represented in the

following sequence: social structure of society, level of social control → ideology, religion and

culture prevailing in society → personal values and ethical beliefs; previous emotional

experience → ethical / unethical consumer behaviour.

The complex structure of consumer ethics in a particular society has always contained

levels corresponding to the social hierarchy. The stability of these levels is especially great in a

traditional society (Lo et al., 2020). But if the social justice of this ethics of consumption for

some reason was questioned, then such a society was expected to be serious upheavals. After

social collisions, a new consumer ethic arose in this society simultaneously with the formation of

a new type of consumer culture.

In accordance with the new consumer ethics, various models of consumer behaviour

arose and developed, which reflected the needs of a particular social stratum. This kind of

behaviour was very carefully regulated and controlled by the consumer ethics of traditional

society (Vitell et al., 2016). Even a small departure from the regulated forms of behaviour in the

sphere of consumption threatened the violator with serious moral sanctions. But on the whole,

the consumer ethics of traditional society was a fairly balanced system. The elaboration of moral

norms in the sphere of consumption and their strict observance for a long time kept the

traditional world in a state of high stability.

Things are starting to change under the influence of a number of factors in Europe's new

history. One can observe the development of new technology, science and the advent of

humanism, which led to great changes in social relations and especially in the culture of
consumption and ethics (Arli, Tjiptono and Winit, 2015). Consumption has become one of the

dominant areas of life in modern society. If earlier in the consumer culture of a traditional

society there was a balance between the luxury of the ruling class and poverty - this or even

voluntary work on the part of the lower strata of society, we would see a completely different

picture of a modern consumer society. Consumption has become a special area in social life

where the positive and negative aspects of human nature appear.

2.3 Consumer Ethics and Religiosity

The literature dealing with the relationship between ethics and religiosity is relatively

young in the sphere of Consumer Behaviour and almost a decade ago it was still considered very

scarce (Arli, 2017). Even so, it is difficult to deny that ethics and religiosity have strong ties.

This is due to the fact that most religions offer themselves as a legitimate alternative to ethical

behaviour.

However, it should also not be considered as the only source of morality or as a synonym

for ethics, even though the constructs overlap considerably in decision making (Caruana,

Carrington and Chatzidakis, 2016). For example, there is a strong relationship between moral

reasoning and the seriousness of the individual's religious commitment. Ferrell and Fraedrich

(2016), when starting an Ethical Theory, considered religion as one of the influencing factors for

ethical decision making in the context of business and/or consumption. Arli (2017) recognize the

ability of religiosity to influence the individual's ethical development, although he considered the

empirical results presented so far to be insufficient.

This was corroborated by Arli (2017) when he stated that, ethically, researchers of

business ethics began to address the role of religiosity. Later on, Adnan et al (2017) also carried

out a literature review, but placing more emphasis on empirical research than on theoretical
analysis. The most recent review of the Consumer Ethics literature, by Ferrell and Fraedrich

(2016), considers the research still sparse and insufficient. In addition, some studies that relate

ethics and religiosity cover their analysis for business, not restricting themselves to observing the

ethical behaviour of the consumer (Arli, 2017).

With this in mind, this research aims to contribute to the theme of Consumer Ethics,

reviewing the most recent articles published in the 21st century (2000-2018) to analyse

preferences and research trends that address the relationship between Consumer Ethics and their

attitudes in the present century. The importance of this review is to contribute towards promoting

a greater development of research on ethics and religiosity in the context of consumption, given

the small interest despite an evident relationship between the constructs.

2.4 Ethical Reasoning and Decision Making

There are several theories that support the legitimacy of ethics, also explaining the

formation of ethical reasoning. For Levitt, Farry and Mazzarella (2015), the structure of ethical

reasoning comprises three main components: justification, motivation The justification provides

valid and convincing reasons for the here rational co of principles ethics, rules, values and

virtues, which often guide ethical conduct through the medium made up of the arguments

provided by the current theoreticians. Motivation points to action ethically, with justified ethical

principles, rules, values and virtues. It is understood that a good argument go an ethical theory -

beyond the justification - must provide psychological motivation capable of motivating

individuals to act ethically while consuming.

Observance arises from the need to act ethically. It is essential to convert the recognition

and the intention to act ethically, accept unethical. These factors are sufficient to act ethically

within damage. It will not be enough if there is an absence of ethical awareness, or presence of
amoral or immoral work, which do not actively encourage reflection and action on the emotional

side of the organization's operations. The success of the individual's ethical conduct will depend

on two factors: internal observance and external observance.

The internal tree considers the harvesting carried out by the individual himself, as well as

all rest those that are part of your attitude and that the even transports to the organization.

External observance considers compliance with the organization, as well as the conditions it

provides for the development of conscience or ethical conduct, which goes against what is

recommended by (Levitt, Farry and Mazzarella, 2015).

The definition of the ethical problem is about perceiving ethical applications of a

marketing decision. It requires an assessment of the nature and implications of this action. This

step fits a question in marketing, as an ethical problem. The selection of an ethical standard

depends on the obvious theories of moral behaviour. While the majority of theories guide point

towards the same solution in the face of identical situations, ethical standards give rise to red

solutions. The existence of moral theories competitors is one of the reasons why Wilkinson and

Savulescu (2018) synthesized disagree about what is ethically correct. A pattern can be applied

to an ethical dilemma in particular and determination of ethical choice is the realization or the

culmination of the entire ethical reasoning process.

Ethical principles are designed for ethical gouging and ethical conduct, both inter-

relational and intra-relational and are essential. Ethical thinking obeys the arguments whose the

conclusion logically follows a set of inductive and presumed reasoning-arguments whose

conclusion is not obtained through true premises, but through inductive probability (Hitchcock,

2017). It starts with simple empirical observation to the experimental knowledge with a belief

that the individual owns the world around him.

 An ethical decision is defined as a moral decision. However, it is legal as well as morally

accepted for society in general. Conversely, an ethical decision is both illegal and immoral for

society in general. The moral issue is present when actions of voluntary action can cause damage

to third parties (Shaw and Barry, 2015). In other words, the action or decision must have

consequences for third parties s to involve choice or willingness on the part of actor or decision

maker. Shawver and Miller (2017) thus suggests a decision model, to analyse the moral intensity

of the subject which has a significant effect on the moral decision-making process.

The contingency of the matter is important for normative research of moral decisions and

for the people who take them. A moral agent is a person who makes a decision when you may or

may not recognize that there are moral issues of the definition is important to the extent where a

central element of the decision-making process the ethical decision presented here is the

recognition of moral matters.

2.5 Ethical Marketing to Attract Consumers

One can identify, in criticism and ethical and moral questioning of the capitalist system,

the main source of the discussions that marketing has been facing since the last century. The

ethical underpinnings on which capitalism is based, since its beginnings, have been strongly

challenged, which the emergence of the consumer society of the last century has only increased.

The works of critics like Brown and Vergragt (2016), are two of the most notorious examples of

questioning and challenging the economic system and the society that emerged from it.

These critics today, they still reverberate in the intellectual circles, producing analyses

that are affiliated to the most different currents of thought and intellectual formation. Even

though the formal definitions of marketing broaden their scope and meaning and point to a

historical dimension that goes back to the most distant human activities (Nguyen et al., 2015),
modern and popularly marketing is seen, in fact, as an institution of the consumer society, easily

associated with sales activities and often confused with pure and simple advertising.

Marketing has undoubtedly withstood criticism, mistrust and doubts about the immoral

moral justification of principles and practices. Olteanu et al (2019) noticed this criticism by

tracing the origins of what he called "bias against marketing". According to him, three of the four

basic benefits that a product must provide to meet a specific human need - form, time, place and

property - fall within the market area (time, place and property) and have the least value for long-

term operations.

Historically the relationship between companies and customers has presented an

adversarial component, in which the objectives of the two parties do not always coincide

(Mirabi, Akbariyeh and Tahmasebifard, 2015). The distribution of power in this relationship,

moreover, has also been identified as uneven, given that consumers are often lacking information

to make the most appropriate purchasing decisions and thus exercise their rights. In this way, it

would belong to companies, with the greatest share of power. Contrariety as a supposed power

exercised by companies constitutes, possibly, the most acidic and recurring criticism of the

institutions of the capitalist system.

The companies and their marketing systems have been attributed and still are attributed

the ability to encourage consumers to envision in the acquisition of products and services the

main way of not only satisfying their practical needs of ownership and use, but also their needs

of emotional and social background (Pittz, Steiner and Pennington, 2019). Meeting these needs,

or the very creation them, would be stimulated by advertising and would take shape in products

considered superfluous and expendable; making use of tricks capable of persuading consumers
and taking advantage of their weaknesses, companies would reduce consumers' rational

judgment and thus find favourable conditions for sale.

Over time, the growing stimulus to consumption would have created a society that was

excessively attached to material goods and lacking ethical limits for obtaining them (Dementieva

and Sokolova, 2018), in which people they would even consume what could be harmful to them

or even harmful to the community. Regardless of the criticism of the system, the truth is that,

daily, the business world puts before its actors a series of ethical decisions and dilemmas (Ferrell

and Fraedrich, 2016).

These are not restricted to marketing activities only and are manifested in almost all

actions taken by organizations and their professionals that have a direct or indirect impact on

consumers, employees, society and public authorities, for example. Understandably, the direct

interactions of the company and the consumer are the most visible and the most subject to

judgment. These are also the ones that have been most subject to regulation and monitoring by

civil society and public authorities, in an attempt to give more balance to the relationship of the

agents.

2.6 Consumer-Brand Relationship

According to Giovanis and Athanasopoulou (2018), the consumer-brand relationship is a

logical extension of the brand's personality, resembling the relationship between people. Riorini

and Widayati (2016) suggests that the brand relationship is an emotional bond resulting from the

interaction between consumers and brands. Huber Meyer and Schmid (2015) note that

organizations have maintained a growing interest in these relationships, their formation, effects

on the market and their cycle. These relationships between the consumer and brands not only

exist but would also be developed over time through all experiences and interactions, leading
firms to perform various tasks to build and maintain these relationships. In this sense, the

consumer-brand relationship can be thought of as a result of the sequential interactive process

between the consumer and a personified brand in a long-term perspective, instead of a simple

repurchase pattern based on consumer satisfaction with a product or service. Riorini and

Widayati (2016) developed studies, using a mixed approach of methods that explored the

integration of attitudinal, behavioural and conceptual constructions, aiming at proposing an

integrated model of the Consumer-Brand Relationship. In the first phase of his work, a

qualitative phase was carried out to understand the dimensions of the CBR, from the perspective

of Grounded Theory.

The CBR attitudinal phase (Consumer-Brand Relationships) it would have three

fundamental stages: cognitive, affective and conative (Hudson et al., 2016). In the cognitive

stage, consumers develop the strength of attitude by comparing the brand and its alternatives,

based on past experiences and / or knowledge related to the offer, the brand attributes, its

performance or information based on current experience about the brand (Gómez-Suárez,

Martínez-Ruiz and Martínez-Caraballo, 2017). The second stage of the CBR it consists of an

affective stage, in which there is a deepening of the relationship. According to Giovanis and

Athanasopoulou (2018), at this stage the relationship develops from strong attitudes favourable

to the brand and its global assessment. This phase occurs when the brand offers resources that

will influence the self and it develops through trusting the brand or a sense of consistency in

relation to the brand's performance. The third stage refers to the maintenance of the relationship

or conative stage, in which the consumer develops a situation of commitment to brand, deciding

to continue with that brand, as well as seeing it as a future purchase option. Finally, the
relationship or behavioural results phase would consist of developing the brand equity (brand

value to the consumer), brand loyalty, purchase intention and positive word of mouth.

2.7 Theoretical Framework

2.7.1 Neuro-marketing And Human Behaviour

Society has always followed cognitive changes in their beliefs, opinions and behavioural

patterns, and for companies to remain competitive and not lose their position in the market, they

need to seek innovation and understanding of consumer behaviour. Defined by the American

Marketing Association (AMA) in its dictionary, consumer behaviour "is the dynamic interaction

between their thoughts, feelings, opinions and the environment in which decisions related to

consumption are made".

According to Ozkul et al (2019), in this context, divergences in social, anthropological,

cultural and philosophical views related to the studies of human behaviour and their influences

began to emerge, as well as criticisms regarding the traditional models of quantitative and

qualitative research with regard to the depth of the results found in them, generating the need for

a much deeper and physiological investigation that brings information directly from the brain

about consumer behaviour. According to Ozkul et al (2019), several studies have already proved

that the brain is one of the main responsible for people’s choices.

From this, neuro-marketing arose from the union of the goals of neuroscience in studying

the human brain and its nervous system and the increase in sales in the area of marketing. This

new area helps to discover how intrinsically motivation that generates a more assertive

behaviour. Therefore, neuro-marketing can be defined as a “field of marketing that uses

neuroscientific methods and techniques in order to analyse and understand human behaviour in

relation to the market and important marketing issues. Therefore, neuro-marketing surveys end
up generating useful indicators that allow marketers to introduce additional elements in their

brand promotion strategies, with the aim of creating a strong mental and trusting connection that

generate sales and loyalty.

Lim (2018) says that brand experiences end up forming mental associations that lead to

conditioning consumer behaviour, which can be positive or not, depending on the memory

formed. For this reason, Ozkul et al (2019) recommends not only focusing on physical

characteristics of the brand and product, since after the first impression, the consumer's mind

makes its assessment in terms of the values, feelings and benefits that are offered to him. From

neuro-marketing, marketers are able to analyse association networks and investigate elements of

unconscious choice in messages to guide faster communication with consumers and their buying

process, directing sensory stimuli and diversified media to establish a positive memory.

According to Lim (2018), several areas of the brain participate in innumerable behaviours

and these are activated when they receive stimuli, which can be processed in parallel in a

conscious and unconscious way. In view of the large and growing volume of information, more

than 80% of decisions are automatically processed unconsciously and quickly on a daily basis,

designed not to overload the conscious mind.

2.7.2 Consumer Ethical Perception

(-----------) was one of the first researchers who sought to name the roots of consumers'

ethical perception, that is, what is the involvement of consumers in activities when the issue of

ethics is raised. “Consumer Ethical Perception (PEC) can be defined as the consumers' aggregate

perception of a subject's morality (company, brand, product or service)” (------------). In this

sense, a series of studies have been carried out in order to contextualize and explore this

phenomenon. In 2011, (------------) carried out a study that aimed to explore the whole nature of
consumer perception and to identify large groups of business activities that are perceived as

ethical and unethical, and which would be the important factors to define the ethical company. In

the process of exploring the construct and making it operational, Rosenthal (2016) used

qualitative research methodologies in order to explore perceptions about business ethics in

relation to the consumer.

Twenty lengthy face-to-face interviews with consumers in general from Great Britain and

Germany were carried out in order to identify and conceptualize potential sources of origin of

ethical consumer perception, that is, the type of business activities that evoke favourable ethical

perceptions or unfavourable. The researchers identified that all responses can be classified into

six main categories together with 36 subcategories that describe the possible origin of the

consumer's ethical perception. According to research, customers tend to assess a company's

ethics based on these six factors: “consumers, employees, environment, local community and the

economy, the business community and the overseas community”. Subsequently, Michaelidou,

Micevski and Cadogan (2021) carried out three complementary studies, using qualitative and

quantitative techniques, which ended with specification, conceptualization and validation of the

Consumer Ethical Perception scale (PEC).

2.7.3 Consumption as a socio-cultural phenomenon

Consumption is a special socio-cultural phenomenon that arises and begins to be realized

by a person at the earliest stages of his history. The very phenomenon of consumption is an

extremely complex and constantly evolving phenomenon. This is due to the fact that

consumption is constantly influenced by a variety of socio - cultural phenomena. The

contradictory interaction of social reality and culture in the history of human society makes the

phenomenon of consumption (along with others) constantly becoming more complex and
ambiguous in its manifestations. At the same time, the complex evolution of social relations,

culture, material and spiritual interactions, world outlooks and moral norms is imprinted in

consumption as a socio-cultural phenomenon.

It can be assumed that all attempts to study consumption only as a specific socio-

economic mechanism leave in the shadow a whole set of essential characteristics of the socio-

cultural plan. It also includes the business values, which is directly related to the changing

hierarchy of human needs. In addition to the system of consumer values, there is also a set of

principles in accordance with which this phenomenon develops and functions. Depending on the

specific historical situation, the combination of these principles may vary, but at its core it tends

to a certain identity. Probably, in relation to the phenomenon of consumption, one can also use

such a concept as historical memory. In its deepest structures, the phenomenon stores

information about those diverse historical forms that it took in its evolution.

2.8 Evolution of Technologies in Consumer Ethical Decision Making

With technological evolution, it became possible to understand the functions of each area

of the brain and its influence on behaviour for a better understanding of human motivation.

Using technologies linked to the area of neuroscience, neuro-marketing studies the neurological

reaction of stimuli related to marketing actions in brain areas, resulting in important information

that can assist in the process of positioning companies in the consumer's mind. According to

Mishra and Shukla (2021), “the understanding of the brain areas that are stimulated during the

decision-making process allows a better understanding of the findings of the so-called methods

accessed by the consumer, which guide the traditional consumer research tools.

Therefore, the various technologies used make it possible to know what influences the

consumer in making a purchase decision, what attracts and holds his attention, in addition to
other information obtained. Among the existing techniques, the electroencephalogram (EEG)

records, with the use of electrodes, patterns of the electrical currents of neural activities related to

stimuli and behavioural responses (Shahriari et al., 2020). The fMRI scans precisely the

stimulated areas of the brain by altering oxygenation in the region's blood flow. On the other

hand, positron emission tomography (PET) measures neural activity from the blood flow in the

region, the greater the flow in the region, the greater the neural activity.

Finally, eye tracking, according to Daugherty, Hoffman and Kennedy (2016), is the most

viable and popular method of research, recording eye movements when the individual is exposed

to some stimulus, measuring, therefore, the consumer's visual attention to certain products,

among others. It is important to highlight that, according to Daugherty, Hoffman and Kennedy

(2016), the relationship between brand and consumer is like an iceberg, in which one part is

easily perceived in this relationship and the other is hidden, related to the unconscious

motivation of the consumer's behaviour towards the brand chosen. Because of this, marketing

must pay attention to biology, since consumer behavioural patterns are related to its physical and

chemical nature and its understanding can assist the professional and exert influence from neuro-

marketing techniques, stimulating certain areas of his brain.

The disease of overconsumption, consumer egoism is spreading at the moment in many

countries of the world, including Britain, but its danger is not yet fully realized. The current

global financial and economic crisis is largely generated by the consumer egoism of the

developed Western countries. Therefore, the modern consumer society, which implements

Western consumer standards all over the world, faces an acute problem of creating a new

consumer ethics, which consists in greater social responsibility of the consumer before society

and the environment, rejection of overconsumption, ethical consumer practices and humanization
of consumption conditions. The theoretical development, substantiation and practical approval of

this ethics can greatly contribute to the solution of global economic and environmental problems.

2.9 Consumer Ethics as an Integral Part of Business Ethics

As consumers are active participants in business processes, it is necessary to study ethics

from the perspective of both business and brands, as well as from the perspective of modern

consumers (ethics and social responsibility towards immoral and selfish consumers). From a

practical point of view, the emergence and adoption of a new ethical approach to consumption

can make a significant contribution to solving global economic and environmental problems.

Business ethics can be characterized as theoretical ethical research that examines ethical

problems and problem areas on the one hand, and ethical rules and standards for business and the

development of ethical brands on the other. Ethical trade requires a natural balance between the

interaction between the company and the consumer and consumer expectations. Business ethics

examines the values and motivations of all participants, their ability to build ethical business in

accordance with the principles of social justice and fairness for consumers, as well as the social

responsibility of the company.

Professional knowledge of business ethics is an essential part of running a successful

business today, as it contributes to the development of the company's brand, consumer

confidence in the business and therefore the long-term financing of the campaign. As a result,

many market participants have begun to think about the ethical purity of their business. This is

achieved through corporate social responsibility.

Ethically responsible companies have an interest in building their brand on the basis of

the powerful functionality of their products without tracing the fake benefits to them or hiding

their negative product. In the field of market economics and business behaviour, although
without their relationship to consumption and ethics, it is impossible to consider business ethics

and brand ethics.

2.10 Final Considerations – who is an ethical consumer?

The belief that consumers and society would increasingly influence ethics in consumer

relations has gained momentum more than thirty years ago and, until today, it has only been

reinforced. In recent years, the academy has tried to investigate more deeply the characteristics

assumed by questions of an ethical nature on the part of the consumer, seeking to verify the

prevailing opinions and behaviours. Indications that consumers would become more demanding

about ethics in business practices were based mainly on the belief that the availability of

information and the level of knowledge about consumer rights, among other factors, would

produce more sophisticated consumers.

If some of the studies produced do not categorically disprove this prediction, at least

discourage expectations that the ethical consumer behaviour it would be less coated with

complexity than the behaviour of managers in making marketing decisions. Some studies have

found, for example, that consumers apply ethical judgment criteria according to circumstances,

tending to react differently, depending on the situation and the results produced. Local culture

has also proved to be an important component in the judgment of companies' actions, with trends

in different behaviours occurring in different countries (Wiederhold and Martinez, 2018).

A study developed by Deng and Xu (2017) did not show a causal link between the

importance attributed by consumers to the ethical behaviour of companies and their propensity to

reward it, that is, consumers said they considered the ethical behaviour of companies to be

important, but they would not be willing to choose their products and services based on this

criterion. A different result was obtained by Aschemann-Witzel et al (2015), who verified not
only the importance attributed to ethical issues, but also identified consumers' predisposition to

punish bad behaviour and reward actions considered correct.

In studies of this nature, in which information concerning consumer behaviour is

addressed, qualitative approaches tend to be quite fruitful. The possibility of promoting a deeper

immersion in the emotional and rational components that lead to a certain behaviour, helps not

only to get answers to some central questioning, but also and mainly to understand the reasons

and circumstances that contribute to its elaboration (Wiederhold and Martinez, 2018). Thus, to

the results mentioned in the previous paragraph, from quantitative studies, it is interesting to add

contributions from recent eminently qualitative research. An exploratory study by Rana and Paul

(2017) pointed out that elements of an ethical nature did not affect the buying behaviours of the

interviewed consumers. Although mention was made of cases widely publicised by the press of

ethically debatable business conduct, there was no significant reaction, to the point of consumers

repudiating the products of certain companies. Consumers, on the contrary, tended to argue

whether companies' stocks were even ethically reprehensible, in an attempt to justify the

practices of companies and to endorse their own choices. For some, the concepts of ethics and

social responsibility were narrowed down by companies acting within the limits of the law and

market rules.

Ferrell et al (2019) also observed that: (1) some consumers did not have sufficient

information regarding the ethical attitude of companies; and that (2) even having information,

they did not give greater importance to the ethical issues involved, feeling unable to influence

them in any way; and (3) reacted differently to different calls ethical, showing themselves to be

more sensitized or critical about some business actions to the detriment of others, tending to

attach greater importance to those actions that, in some way, affected them more directly.
Authors' conclusion: the factors that most influenced buying behaviours were the traditional ones

- price, value, brand image, aesthetics, status etc., and the market positioning, based on ethical

attributes, should be preceded by an analysis of the values of the target, because "some

consumers simply do not engage in issues that do not directly affect them, or for which they do

not feel sympathy" (Nadeem et al., 2015), rendering such a sales argument innocuous. The

authors' synthesis is that “many ethical abuses by companies can continue to happen, without any

negative impact on consumer buying behaviours.

In summary, it is reasonable to assume that, like many marketing professionals, some

consumers are facing ethical dilemmas at the time of consumption (personal interests versus

incentive to the ethical behaviours of a company, for example) and that any predispositions to

make the ethical posture of companies a determining factor in the choice of products remain

more solid as a piece of rhetoric than practical confirmation. If, at times, the mismatch between

the ethical requirements of society and consumers in relation to the actions of the companies was

accused, and at other times, there was a gap between the academic recommendations and the

possibilities of managerial practice in relation to the theme, there may also be a gap between the

academy's expectation regarding the ethical consumer behaviours and its effective development.

2.11 Chapter Summary

After providing a brief overview of the discussions related to ethics in marketing, it is

pertinent to make some final considerations on the topic and address questions for future

research. It was found that the business world, and marketing practices in particular, seem to

respect similar logic. In addition to the rules and regulations, there is an infinite number of

actions that pass through a space where judgments of an ethical and moral nature lose objectivity
and start to be carried out under the prism of personal conventions, consecrated practices and

cultures.

If the absence of codes of conduct, whether explicit or tacit, represents an invitation to

harmful practices, their existence does not mean an end to the dubiousness inherent to ethical

issues. In this context, the experience tends to give market players, that is, companies,

professionals and consumers mainly, the ability to develop mechanisms that guarantee them

some protection and preservation, allowing its survival; but never exempt him from facing

dilemmas and ambiguous situations. As Igboke and Kulo (2018) points out, it is not suggesting

that business practices are “totally unethical [but that] the language of business, business goals

and the way business professionals perceive their roles put them 'at risk' for unethical conduct.”

In line with these observations, there is another interesting aspect that deserves to be

addressed. The academy recommends that companies should focus on the consumer, making the

fulfilment of their wants and needs the main reason for their existence. In recent years, it has

become a common place to consumer sovereignty, stimulating the belief that companies that

have the consumer first show better results. Similar thinking seems to have guided the defence of

consumer sovereignty also with regard to the ethical judgment of companies' practices. In a

hypothetical passage from caveat emptor (supremacy of the seller) to the caveat venditor

(supremacy of the buyer), an increase in ethical standards of consumption could be seen, in

which the companies with the best conduct would be rewarded with the best performance.

Even so, these two perspectives should be viewed with reservations. Such as consumer

sovereignty in fulfilling your wishes and desires not always is positive for the company, as there

are circumstances in which the interests of both simply collide, the principle of caveat venditor

nor is it an indicator that consumers are guardians of ethics and morals. Acting according to the
wishes and desires of the consumer - and sometimes even society - does not necessarily mean

acting ethically.

“Sometimes, it can be morally expensive to give consumers what they want”, pointed out

by (Vitell, 2015). This does not mean, on the other hand, that the consumerism and other

movements for the defence of consumer rights are not fundamental institutions for the

improvement of relations between agents in the world of business and consumption. In general,

these movements complement the work of government regulatory bodies and class associations,

defending established rights. One should only avoid incurring the error that unbalancing the

balance to one side, historically seen as victim, representing doing justice and becoming immune

to the errors and deviations inherent in any process of social interaction.

 3 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

A research method is considered to be one of the most effective approach through which

the data is collected and gathered. It has been assumed that the research methodology is the

central aspect of the research, which mainly emphasize on providing an overview to the

researcher to collect information from different reliable sources (Saunders, et al., 2007). There

are considerably two major types of methods and/or designs through which data is collected.

These methods ranges from the inclusion of the quantitative research design in which surveys are

conducted to obtain quantifiable data. In contrast, the qualitative research design is also often

applied in the research.

This method is mainly based on the entailment of comprehensive information acquired

from the interviews mostly. In this specified research, which is mainly based on the assessment

of the behaviour and attitude of consumers towards the ethical consumption, the researcher has

implemented a quantitative research design. This mainly assisted the researcher to attain

quantifiable data to realize the changing behaviour of consumer towards the notion of ethical

consumption. Other than this, the research onion model has been specifically used in order to

define the suitable research philosophy, approach, and data collection method that has been

applied in order to conduct the research.

3.2 Research Philosophy

Research philosophy is considered to be one of the most substantial element of the research

onion model. There are considerably four different types or research philosophies available to

researchers. These four types of research philosophies ranges from positivism-based research
philosophy to interpretivism-based research philosophy. Moreover, realism and pragmatism-

based research philosophies are also used by researchers.

Nevertheless, it is also believed that a philosophy based on positivism is sufficient for

researchers to determine the relationship between two variables. Similarly, analytic philosophy

based on interpretivist is considered a sufficient basis for analysis necessary for accurate

interpretation of data, while pragmatism of analytic philosophy is chosen when both the

relationship between variables and interpretation of data is needed (Saunders and Townsend,

2016).

On the other hand, realism-based research philosophy is more effective for scientific

research, which requires experiments to reach an agreement. However, this research is based on

the assessment of the cultural diversity in the construction industry and focuses on conducting

surveys. In this concern, this research emphasised the selection of positivism-based research

philosophy as it helped the researcher to determine the relationship between the behaviour of

consumers and the escalation in the ethical consumption.

3.3 Research Approach

There are mostly two different forms of research approaches (an inductive and deductive

form of research. In most cases, the inductive research approach is more suitable in the condition

where the research finding is already known. In contrast, the deductive research approach is

more suitable in researches, where the outcome is required to be obtained and analysed. In this

concern, the research based on the assessment of the ethical consumption in the retailing industry

required a deduced outcome and analysis. Therefore, a deductive research approach was

selected. The main purpose of applying the deductive research approach is to deduce experts'
views and responses regarding the growth and elevation in the demand of ethical consumption in

the region.

3.4 Research Strategies

The shreds of evidence provided by Mertens et al. (2017), strategies within a research

process reveals the two most important research characteristics, namely “quantitative and

qualitative.” According to Mertens et al. (2017), quantitative methods include the use of

subtraction to test ideas or concepts based on science fiction positivism and objectivity. The

qualitative strategy focuses on the inductive method of theoretical development, rejects

positivism, and focuses on the individual interpretation of the social reality of constructivism.

Each method involves the use of different methods to collect and analyse data.

Quantitative methods are based on quantitative data analysis (the confidentiality of survey

data, collected data, etc.) and analysis based on mathematical methods. In turn, the strategy is

based on a summary of the text content (text from various interviews, survey data included, etc.),

and its design uses a unique analysis process. Since the early 1990s, a complete integrated

system has been established, including integrated standards, to collect and analyse data from

standardised and quantitative estimates to obtain logical and reliable results.

Moreover, Sim, et al. (2018) claimed that a research design and/or strategy is considered

one of the most imperative aspects of the research onion model. The research design's role is to

appraise how the research is conducted and what techniques are applied to gather data. A

research design as per Saunders and Townsend (2016) views are considered to be the

prearranged approach that helps obtain a guide to collect data.

The quantitative research design is considered to be the most comfortable forms of

research design in which surveys are conducted from different respondents. Quantitative research
design yields quantifiable and measurable data. However, the drawback associated with the

quantitative research design is that it gives short responses. Therefore, many researchers apply a

qualitative research design, which yields an in-depth response obtained through interviews.

Apart from quantitative research design and qualitative research design, in some cases; a mixed-

research design is applied that incorporates the element of both the quantitative and qualitative

research. The respective form of research design requires extensive details. Nonetheless, it can

be time-consuming and so, the researchers often avoid applying the mixed-research design.

However, to get clear and comprehensive details regarding the main topic of concern, the

mixed-research method can be used in which qualitative and quantitative research designs were

applied collectively. Nonetheless, this is also highly time-consuming and complicated. In this

regard, the quantitative design was applied through which surveys were conducted from different

consumers and retailers to assess their views on the behavioural attribute of consumers towards

the notion of ethical consumption. This specified research design/strategy played a crucial role in

determining whether customers’ demands are changing and whether they are all moving towards

the concept of ethical consumption.

3.5 Types of Investigation

It is considerable fact that there are different types of investigations, which are often used

while conducting the research. These investigation-based approaches ranges from the notion of

explanatory investigation, exploratory investigation, and descriptive investigation. In most cases,

explanatory investigation is applied when the researcher is determined to focus on the inclusion

of an approach where certain phenomenon has to be explained from different perspective. In

addition to this, the exploratory form of investigation is applied when a new research topic is to

be explored. In contrast, descriptive form of investigation is applied in the situation where the
phenomenon is required to be described. In this specified research, the researcher was intended

to explore the concept of ethical consumerism and behaviour of consumers towards this

phenomenon. In this concern, exploratory form of research has been chosen to assess and explore

how this phenomenon is affecting the customers and retailers.

3.6 Data Collection Methods

According to the study conducted by Ruggiano, and Perry (2019), data collection methods

are divided into two methods such as; primary and secondary methods. According to the research

provided by Apanasevic (2018), Primary methods entail raw and new data that has not been used

previously. The methods include; surveys, questionnaires, content analysis through interviews

and observations. The survey method is recognized today by many scientists as a universal

method of obtaining social information. The research results using the survey method are

convincing and informative (in terms of content), expressive and evidence-based. It should be

noted that the poll as a method (face-to-face or correspondence questionnaire survey, interview),

along with its direct purpose obtaining information on the problem, serves to popularize the

library, informs the population about the services it provides, the events held, etc., because

questions are always a particular semantic and informational load.

Content analysis of documents is a method of collecting quantitative data in documents

about the phenomenon or process under study. A significant part of the information that a

researcher needs in his work is contained in documentary sources. A complete understanding of

their content in many cases allows you to obtain information sufficient to solve the problem or

deepen the problem’s analysis. When conducting sociological research in libraries, the content

analysis may be subject to reader forms or requirements. It is possible to identify what kind of

information is in most significant demand and what media within this method. On the opposite,
observation is a general scientific method widely used in natural science. Its application in

sociology is limited because not all social phenomena are amenable to direct visual and auditory

perception. But when a researcher deals with objects that can be observed, i.e., perceive with

sight and hearing, he can use this method. For example, in a library, observation can be used to

study the effectiveness of using a reference and bibliographic apparatus.

On the contrary, secondary data entails previous data that previous researchers in their

research articles have catered. As identified by Ruggiano, and Perry (2019), the secondary data

collection process is not categorised into various methods other than the primary data collection.

This is because the data is collected from past research papers, journal articles, websites, and

newspapers. However, the researcher has used a primary data collection procedure due to

surveys to gather the data. Another reason for using primary data is that it has allowed the

researcher to develop unused data related to the study topic. In the context of primary data

collection method, the researcher has made sure to collect data by conducting quantitative

survey. The respective survey method resulted in providing an overview of the views of

respondents regarding the concept of ethical consumption. In addition to this, it is also

considered that conducting face-to-face survey was impossible during the COVID-19 era. For

this reason, the entire survey has been conducted using internet-based approach in which the

questions were sent to the respondents via email. Nonetheless, a consent form was initially sent

to the respondents to ensure ethical consideration in the research. Once the targeted respondents

agree to take part in the survey, then all the relevant questionnaire developed for the research

topic were emailed to the respondents. On the other hand, the respondents sent an email after

filling the responses to help the researcher in interpreting the results and derive the outcome as

well.
 On the other hand, the researcher also relied on the secondary data collection method in

which different databases were mainly used for obtaining the published studies. Some of the

most important databases include “Google Scholar, EBSCOHOST, and ProQuest” as they

provide a vast range of literature on various topics related different fields like business,

consumer behavior, psychology and other disciplines. The databases provide reliable and valid

information and can be easily accessed and thus for this reason, they are used in the present

study. Google Scholar provides primary studies and is considered to be a reliable source.

EBSCOHOST is also identified to be valid database providing indexing for various studies

related to the ethical and social aspects of consumers. In a similar way, ProQuest is also an

effective database for obtaining the primary studies to conduct a literature review. Other than

this, it has also been assumed that ProQuest is also a great source of providing evidence found in

the form of complete as well as authoritative papers which are also peer-reviewed. The present

study also employed the use of this database since it is considered reliable for the provision of

original peer-reviewed researches.

3.7 Data Analysis

The data analysis approach is considered an evaluation technique in which the collected

data is analysed through different tools and techniques. For quantifiable data, the data analysis

based on SPSS and Frequency Analysis are available, and so for a quantitative survey, frequency

analysis was applied to determining the relationship between the consumer’s behaviour and

ethical consumption. Nonetheless, Likert Table is often used as the primary tool to analyse and

evaluate the data. This specified table helped the researcher to assess whether the majority of

respondents agree with the notion of ethical consumption or not.

3.8 Sample Size

 The total number of respondents selected for the quantitative survey is xx. These

respondents are consumers who are frequent shoppers. Survey has also been conducted from

shoppers and/or retailers to assess whether they are seeing any growth in the demand for the

ethical products.

3.9 Sampling Methods

According to the study conducted by Etikan, and Bala (2017), the sampling method is

defined as a statistical method for studying the general properties of a set of any objects based on

studying the properties of only a part of these objects. The set of objects of interest for the

researcher is called the general set. And some of the objects to be studied are called a sample

population or sample. Objective reasons can cause the need for a sampling method: the object of

the study is very extensive, for example, the study of consumer preferences in the product

market, the forecast of voting results in elections, etc., or the need to collect primary information

in “pilot” studies.

The study published by Etikan, and Bala (2017), shows two types of sampling methods,

i.e., probability and non-probability methods. When forming a probabilistic (random) sample,

such a selection of observations is provided, in which the formed sample is representative of the

general population. Representativeness is a property due to which the sample recreates all the

important (from the research point of view) characteristics of the general population. It is

customary to refer to probability sampling as “simple random sampling,” “stratified sampling,”

“cluster sampling,” and “systematic sampling.” For simple random sampling, a list of the general

population must be available to the researcher. After receiving the list, the selection should be

carried out using one technique that ensures the same probability of each observation unit being
included in the sample population, namely, mechanic selection, systematic sampling, and

random tables.

Secondly, the empirical evidence provided by Etikan, and Bala (2017), has demonstrated

that stratified sampling is a process consisting of two stages, wherein the plurality is divided into

subgroups (layers, striations, strata). Layers must be mutually exclusive and mutually

complementary to each other so that each element of the aggregate belongs to one and only one

layer, and no element is missing. Next, elements are randomly selected from each layer, usually

using a simple random sampling method. Formally, the selection of elements from each layer can

only be made using the SRS. However, in practice, systematic sampling and other probabilistic

sampling methods are sometimes used. The difference between a stratified sample and a quota

sample is that the elements in it are chosen somewhat randomly and not out of convenience or

based on the researcher’s opinion. The main goal of stratified sampling is to increase accuracy

without increasing costs.

Similarly, the sample cluster is divided into mutually exclusive first and complementary

subgroups or clusters. Then using a probabilistic sampling method like SRS, a random sample of

clusters is formed. The sample includes either all elements of the selected cluster or they are

selected by a probabilistic method. If the sample includes all the elements of each selected

cluster, this procedure is called one-stage cluster sampling. If the sample is obtained by

probabilistic sampling from each selected cluster, this procedure is called two-stage cluster

sampling. There are two types of two-stage cluster sampling namely “simple two-stage cluster

sampling using SRS and probability proportional sampling”. Also, a cluster sample can consist

of several stages, speaking as a multistage cluster sample.

 In systematic sampling, an arbitrary starting point is first set, and then each “i- th”

element is sequentially selected from the sampling frame. The sampling interval i is defined as

the ratio of the population size “N” to the sample size “n,” with the result rounded to the nearest

integer. For example, a population has 100,000 items, and the desired sample size is 1,000

respondents. In this case, the sampling interval is 100. A random number between 1 and 100

is selected.

On the other side, in the non-probabilistic method, data selection in such a sample is

carried out not according to the principles of randomness but according to subjective criteria,

availability, typicality, equal representation, etc. The non-probability method is categorised into

several types: snowball sampling, spontaneous sampling, and quota sampling. In quota sampling

within a non-probability method, a certain number of groups of objects are allocated (for

example, men aged 20-30, 31-45, and 46-60; persons with an income of up to 30 thousand

rubbles, with an income of 30 to 60 thousand rubbles and an income of over 60 thousand

rubbles) For each group, the number of objects to be examined is set.

The number of objects that must fall into each group is set, most often, either in

proportion to the previously known share of the group in the general population or the same for

each group. Within the groups, objects are selected at random. In snowball sampling, each

respondent, starting with the first one, is asked for the contacts of his friends, colleagues,

acquaintances who would fit the selection conditions and could take part in the study. Thus,

except for the first step, the sample is formed with the research objects themselves. The method

is often used when it is necessary to find and interview hard-to-reach groups of respondents.

Lastly, Spontaneous sampling entails surveys and questionnaires given to respondents for

self-completion, most Internet surveys. The size and composition of the spontaneous samples are
not known in advance and are determined by only one parameter, i.e., the activity of the

respondents. Thereby, the researcher in the following research study has applied the non-

probabilistic method by using spontaneous sampling. The justification for implementing this

particular sampling method is that the research entails using surveys for catering research

information. Therefore, it was suitable for the researcher to use the spontaneous sampling

method.

3.10 Reliability and Viability

Mohajan, (2017) stated that the research reliability is the research results must be

reproducible and reproducible. Another study conducted under the same conditions and using the

same method should yield the same results. This allows researchers to present their findings and

confirm the validity of the answers discussed in the research. The effectiveness of the research

plan determines its overall use, and ultimately reliable results are obtained. Inference or

reliability refers to an evaluation process used to evaluate the work done for this purpose. Crucial

to high quality is a carefully selected research process that can accurately identify, measure, and

interpret what is being studied.

Reliability can be tested according to current field conditions and uniformity, stability and

uniformity. However, the tests used includes “Leven’s test of homogeneity”, “pilot testing by

frequency” and “Cronbach’s alpha test” of reliability. On the other side, validity is shared

according to the degree of accuracy and certainty of the increase in its coefficient. The relevancy

or research outcomes, or reliability is defined as the minor degree and altitude of the individual.

In other words, when certain research equipment are used under the same conditions, the

magnitude of the effect will change. In this concern, all of the above-identified approaches have

been applied by the researcher to enhance the overall reliability and viability of the research.
Other than this, the researcher has also ensure to use secondary sources as the paradigm to

validate the research findings. In other words, it can be stated that the researcher has verified the

authenticity and reliability of the quantitative responses by comparing them to the literary

findings obtained from reliable secondary sources.

3.11 Ethical Consideration

It is considered that the ethical values and considerations are required to be given to

respondents and/or participants as many individuals are afraid that their personal information and

details will be exposed to the public. In this way, it is believed that while conducting the survey

from the respondents, it is vital to ensure their confidentiality. In this research, the focus was first

on taking permission from the respondents/participants by sending them the consent form.

Furthermore, once the permission was granted, the questionnaires were sent to the selected

respondents. Moreover, they were given assurance that their information will not be revealed

without their permission.

On the other hand, it is also a noticeable fact that the ethical consideration and value in the

research is also required to be maintained while collecting data from secondary sources. In this

regard, it has been appraised that the researcher while gathering and interpreting the data from

the secondary sources ensured citing the original authors to maintain academic integrity. Other

than this, the data was collected from the reliable database with the primary intention to make

sure that the original and validated studies are added into the research. Consequently, data

collected from different resources were properly paraphrased to prevent plagiarism. In this

manner, the research proved to be ethical.

3.12 Research Limitations

 There are certain elements and attributes, which affect the reliability of the research. For

example, the research mainly emphasizes on conducting surveys derive the outcome. Hence, it is

believed the results are not easily verified. Therefore, many researchers may raise concern for the

authenticity of the research. In this concern, it is believed that future research should focus on

conducting a more comprehensive assessment by conducting interviews as well.

Correspondingly, additional factors and elements, which affect the consumer’ behaviour industry

should be investigated to increase the research authenticity and increase its applicability in real-

world retailing firms. Other than this, it is also believed that ethical consumption is not only

crucial in the retailing sector. In fact, some other industries are also influenced and stimulated by

ethical consumption. In this concern, some other industries should also be examined to assess

how the paradigm of ethical consumption will influence them.

3.13 Summary

It has been assumed that the research methodology is the central aspect of the research,

which mainly emphasize on providing an overview to the researcher to collect information from

different reliable sources. There are considerably two major types of methods and/or designs

(qualitative interview and quantitative survey) through which data is collected

For the proposed study, the researcher has executed a survey as the data collection, which

has been identified previously. This means that the researcher has used a direct quantitative

approach to conduct the research process. In addition to this, the identified respondents are

selected as per the relevancy of the research topic. Due to the current pandemic situation, the

researcher conducted the surveys through online platforms such as; email, which helped the

researcher save a significant quantity of time and financial resources.

Chapter 4 Results

This chapter deals provides results of the present research. The major aim of the present research

is to determined concept of ethical consumption, and assesses the factors that influence to adopt

the behaviour of ethical consumption. The results were highlighted the help of descriptive

statistics, using frequency and percentage distribution of the respondents. The results are

presented in a tabulation form. The description of the results is provided in the light of the

objectives of the study. This section further provides the detailed insight about the phenomenon

of ethical consumerism.

Table No. 1. Gender wise distribution of respondents

Gender Frequency Percentage

Male 55 51.40
Female 46 42.99
Prefer not to say 6 5.61
Total 107 100
Table shows the gender-wise distribution of respondents. The results highlight that there are 55

(51.40%) male and 46 (42.99%) female respondents. There are only 6 (5.61%) of respondents

who prefer not to say about their gender. These results reflect that majority of the respondents

are male, indicating the male dominancy in the public life. However, a significant portion of the

population represents female respondents, indicating almost similar number of females as there

are males. This result also presented that the population of present research significantly

represented different genders. More importantly, the results also reflect that there are gender-

sensitive community, though there are only 5.61% of them, but it shows the gender-binary is

breaking somehow. A slight difference between male and female respondents also indicates a

digital divide. Gender inequality exists in social world and it has travelled to digital world as

well. Women have least access to internet as compare to men.

These results showed that the consumer behaviour related reality could be unearthed from these

respondents who have different genders. The results of the present research may reflect the

holistic view of all the people that goes beyond the limit of genders. Varieties of experiences are

likely to reflect in the results of the present research as there is reflection of gender balance in the

population of present study.

Table No. 2. Employment Status of Respondents

Frequency Percentage
Employee 59 55.14
Unemployed 28 26.17
Self Employed 20 19.69
Total 107 100
Table highlights the employment status of the respondents. The results in the table indicates that

there are 59 (55.14%) respondents were employee, 28 (24.17%) were unemployed and 20

(19.69%) of them were self-employed. This also reflects the population of the present research

are from different employment statuses. A clear majority of population are employee which

reflects the population that is likely to be consumers from economically active background.

There are significant number of unemployed population as well which shows they are also likely

to be consumers, though not active economically. Furthermore, a notable number of self-

employed population is happens to be consumers.

There difference of employment statuses may reflect the different consumer behaviours in the

society. It may reflect different cultures of consumerism; one may be ethical consumer or may

not. These facts in the table reflect the mandate of consumers who are from different

employment backgrounds. However, it is presumed that economically active community is likely

to be ethical consumers.

Table No. 3. ETHICAL CONSUMERSIM IS GROWING AT AN EXPONENTIAL RATE

Scale Frequency Percentage

A 49 45.79
SA 4 3.73
N 29 15.88
D 17 7.47
SD 7 27.10
Total 107 100
The table shows the opinion of population about the statement that ethical consumerism is

growing at an exponential rate. There are 49 (45.79%) respondents who agree with the given

statement, following with 4 (3.73%) respondents who are strongly agreed with the given

statement. There are 29 (15.88%) of respondents who remained neutral to the statement. Only 17

(7.47%) respondents disagree and 7 strongly disagree with the statement.

These results reflect that a clear majority of respondents believe that ethical consumerism is

growing at exponential rate. This seems to be a good sign for businesses because it makes them

know that how the rapid growth of ethical consumerism may effect there businesses. The

exponential growth of ethical consumerism is likely to affect the supply chains to retail markets.

Such a kind of market with ethical consumers is likely to positively affect the overall

environment of the planet. The rapid growth of ethical consumerism also shows that businesses

are making their policies in accordance with the ethical consumerism.

There is a significant portion of the population who remained neutral to the given statement. This

may shows that the respondents are in a confused state whether there is an exponential growth of

ethical consumerism or not. However, it does not necessarily reflect the disagreement with the

statement.

There are fewer respondents who believe that the ethical consumerism is not growing at

exponential rate. This segment of society may reflect the unemployed part of population.

However, an argument can be built on the present findings that ethical consumerism is

exponentially growing and this rapid change is likely to change the shopping trends, public and
private sector organizations. This also highlights that such a rapid growth of ethical consumerism

is likely to develop a more sustainable growth of the society.

Table No. 4. ETHICAL CONSUMPTION IN THE FOOD AND APPAREL SECTOR ARE

CONSIDERED TO BE MORE PREVALENT

Scale Frequency Percentage

A 53 49.53
SA 8 7.48
N 27 25.23
D 17 15.88
SD 2 1.86
Total 107 100
Table shows the view of respondents about the statement that ethical consumption in the food

and apparel sector are considered to be more prevalent. The results in the table showed that there

are 53 (49.53%) of respondents who are agreed with the given statement. There are 8 (7.48%)

respondents who strongly believe that ethical consumption in the food and apparel sector are

considered to be more prevalent. There are 27 (25.23%) respondents who are of the neutral view

about the given statement. Moreover, 17 (15.88%) respondents disagreed with the statement and

only 2 (1.86%) of them strongly disagreed with the statement.

These findings reflect that more than half of the population viewed ethical consumption as more

prevalent in food and apparel sector. However, significant segment of population remained

neutral about the given statement. A notable number of respondents disagreed with the

statement. These results showed that ethical consumerism has exponential growth rate in food

and apparel sector. This finding is an important factor for the food and apparel sector businesses

and corporations. Ethical consumerism in food and apparel sector also describe that the ethical

products are prevailing in the markets or the consumers are more sensitized now.

This finding also highlights that people are now more concern about the health, they are likely to

read labels, they are more health conscious today. Such a sensitized consumerism is reflected in
the present finding of the research. Labelling plays an important role in shaping the behaviour of

consumers. There are now more than half of the population who believe in ethical consumerism.

Health-care behaviour is also influencing the shopping behaviour of people. This is also reflected

in the present findings as majority are linked to ethical consumerism.

The growing interest in the ethical consumerism, several organizations is influenced by ethical

consumerism. This is also shaping the behaviour of people towards ethical consumption. Such a

change, and at exponential rate, is changing the course of markets. People are now more

concerned about not only their health but environmental health of the planet as well. This is

interesting to know that consumers are now concerned about the food and apparel sector,

assessing the products with the help of ethical consumption.

Table No. 5. INVESTORS TODAY ARE INFLUENCED BY ETHICAL CONSUMPTION

Scale Frequency Percentage
A 51 47.66
SA 7 6.54
N 35 32.71
D 13 12.15
SD 1 0.93
Total 107 100
Table shows the view of respondents about the statement that investors today are influenced by

ethical consumption. There are 51 (47.66%) respondents who agreed with the given statement

and there are 7 (6.54%) respondents who are strongly agreed with the statement that investors

today are influenced by ethical consumption. The results also highlight that there are 35

(32.17%) respondents who are of the neutral view about the statement. Only 13 (12.15%)

respondents are of the view that investors today are not influenced by ethical consumption.

However, only a one respondent strongly disagreed with the given statement.

These findings showed that a clear majority of respondents are of the view that investors are

influenced by the ethical consumption. This means that investors are working or investing the
products which are ethically fit for the market. Such a trend shows that ethical consumption is

enhancing day by day that is good for the eco economy. People are more sensitized now about

ethical consumerism. For this reason, the investors are motivated to invest in ethical products.

Such a change in the behaviour of consumers is likely to change the whole process of production

to purchasing patterns.

This finding also highlights a need of change in marketing strategies and policies of the

businesses and corporations. Marketing strategy and policies should contain the elements of

ethical consumerism as the finding dictates. Changing the behaviour and attitude of consumers

toward ethical consumption is a sign that future products and services should take into account it

seriously in order to compete in the market. This is more important for the healthy environment

not only in the market but for the global eco system as well. The investors are influenced by the

ethical consumption also shows that investors are changing the behaviour just as the consumer

changed theirs. This indicates the consumer behaviour is shaping the investors activities.

It is to mention that as people are today sensitized toward ethical consumers so are the investors.

Such a productive change is making market more environment friendly place.

Table No. 6. ETHICAL CONSUMPTION INFLUENCES BOTH PUBLIC/PRIVATE SECTOR

ORGANIZATIONS
Scale Frequency Percentage
A 53 49.53
SA 10 9.34
N 31 28.97
D 11 10.28
SD 2 1.87
Total 107 100
Table shows the view of respondents that ethical consumption influences both public and private

sector organizations. Almost half (49.53%) respondents were agreed with the statement that

ethical consumption influences private and public sectors. There are 10 (9.34%) respondents
were strongly agreed with the given statement. There are significant number of respondents

(28.97%) remained neutral to the given statement. Only 11 (10.28%) respondents believed that

ethical consumption does not influence private or public sector organizations. Only 2 (1.87%)

respondents strongly disagreed with the statement.

The finding highlights that more than half of the population believes that ethical consumerism

influences not only public organizations but also the private sector organizations. Those

respondents who are agreed to the statement are likely to be employed and self-employed.

However, there are likely to be few respondents who believe in ethical consumerism and they are

unemployed. The finding also highlights that public and private sector organizations are rapidly

turning towards ethical consumerism.

Significant portion of the population which remained neutral to the given statement are likely to

be those who are still confused or are not sensitized about the ethical consumption. This segment

of population is likely to be unemployed as per their employment status. A little number of

respondents disagreed with the given statement, indicating that little portion of population is not

accepting ethical consumption. Public sector organizations are burdened with the public service

motivation, governmental accountability and organizational commitment. Today, the private

sector organizations are also advancing in this regard. The opinion of majority of the population

is supporting the argument that both private and public sector organizations are influenced by

ethical consumerism. This showed a progressive development in the market, businesses and

production processes. The marketing policies and strategies are also enhancing the ethical

consumerism. However, there are certain pockets in the population, whose opinions need to be

changed in the days to come.

Table No. 7 YOU ALWAYS SHOP ETHICALLY

Scale Frequency Percentage
A 24 22.43
SA 8 7.48
N 44 41.12
D 25 23.36
SD 6 5.61
Total 107 100
Table shows the behaviour of community that whether they shop ethically. Findings in the table

represents that there are 44 (41.12%) respondents who remained neutral to the given statement.

This is the majority of the population may or may not shop ethically. The present finding showed

that there are likely to be less ethical products availability in the market. Though, organizations

are influenced by the ethical consumption. This finding may also highlights that the perception

of population is different than that of their real activity towards ethical consumerism. There are

25 (23.36%) respondents who disagreed with the statement that you always shop ethically.

Moreover, there are 6 (5.61%) of population who are strongly disagree with the given statement.

There are 24 (22.43%) respondents who showed agreement with the given statement. There are 8

(7.48%) respondents who are strongly agreed with the statement that you always shop ethically.

Buying or shopping ethically requires ethical products to be available in the market. This finding

may reflect that there are fewer ethical products available in the markets. However, the present

finding showed that there are significant numbers of population who shop ethically. This also

highlights that, in reality, almost a quarter of the population shop ethically. There might be a

difference between reality and behaviour of the people relating to ethical consumerism.

A clear majority of the population remained neutral to statement which may not necessarily

means that they are not shopping ethically. However, they remained confused about the ethical

consumerism. One thing is clear that they are not clear about the ethical consumerism. The

change in behaviour and attitude of the consumers towards ethical consumerism highlights a dire
need of ethical consumption taken into account by the organizations. Neutral position of the

majority of the population also highlight that the businesses are required to turn towards ethical

consumerism.

Table No. 8. THERE IS A STRONG ASSOCIATION BETWEEN ETHICAL CONSUMPTION

AND SUSTAINABILITY

Scale Frequency Percentage

A 46 42.99
SA 5 4.67
N 38 35.51
D 16 14.95
SD 2 1.87
Total 107 100
Table shows the view of population about the statement that there is a strong association between

ethical consumption and sustainability. There are 46 (42.99%) respondents who believe that

there exists a strong relationship between sustainability and ethical consumption. It can be said

that the ethical consumption increases the possibility of sustainability. The sustainable growth is

the need of the hour. Sustainability is linked with the sustainable environment in the world. The

businesses and organizations are now considering these facts. People are now sensitized too. It is

highlighted by the present finding which highlights majority of the population think that there is

a strong association between sustainability and ethical consumption.

There are 38 (35.51%) respondents who remained neutral to the given statement. This is a

significant notable portion of the population who seems to have no view on the statement that

there is a strong link between sustainability and ethical consumption. However, this neutrality

may not show that there exist no relationship between the two variables including ethical

consumption and sustainability. The sustainability is a key feature for the organizations, either
private or public. To achieve sustainability, there is a dire need to incorporate ethical

consumerism in the organizations’ policies. As per this finding, ethical consumption has become

a factor of sustainability. So this finding dictates that ethical consumption is a feature of

sustainability of organizations in today’s times.

Sustainability of public and private sector organizations is now associated with the ethical

consumerism. This finding is an important point for the organizations and corporations to make

ethical consumption incorporated in their investing, producing, marketing and shipping

procedures in order to sustain their businesses in the markets. Markets are now full of people

with ethical consumerism and it is the need of time for the businesses and organizations to adopt

ethical products in order to capture the due market share. Ethical consumption has changed the

course of market and marketing as well.

Table No. 9

THE PARADIGM OF ETHICAL CONSUMPTION STIMULATES ALL BRANDS

Scale Frequency Percentage

A 49 45.79
SA 3 2.80
N 40 37.38
D 11 10.28
SD 4 3.74
Total 107 100
The table shows the opinion of population about the statement which reads ‘the paradigm of

ethical consumption stimulates all brands’. The results in the table showed that there are 49

(45.79%) of respondents who are agreed to the given statement that ethical consumption, as a

paradigm, stimulated all the brands. However, there are only 3 (2.80) respondents who followed

the statement by strongly agreeing with the given statement. A second majority among the

population (37.38%) are those who remained neutral to the given statement. This shows that
almost half of the population are of the view that believes ethical consumption as stimulating all

brands. However, significant number of population (10.28%) disagreed with the given statement.

There are only 4 respondents who strongly disagree with the given statement. This shows that

there are less population to disagree and more population to agree with the given statement. The

confusion remained about the neutral population that exists significantly in the population. The

clear point of the present finding is that there are almost half of the population who believes

ethical consumption has stimulated all brands. It seems all the brands are working on the ethical

consumption. This shows the vastness of paradigm of ethical consumerism that has captured the

major part of the market.

This finding also shows that ethical consumption as paradigm has dominated the market. The

domination is strongly influenced by the consumer behaviour and reality. The rapid growth of

ethical consumerism has changed the course of market. This paradigm has radically shifted the

marker towards more environment friendly and sustainability. This seems a shift from well

aware consumers to ethical consumers. The brands are also shifted to the ethical consumption.

The pattern of shopping has shaped the market differently. It has become a fact that for the

sustainable growth of organizations it is of paramount significance to entertain ethical

consumption.

Table No. 10. INTRODUCING ETHICALLY CONSUMABLE PRODUCTS IS SIMPLE AND

CONVENIENT

Scale Frequency Percentage

A 45 42.06
SA 5 4.67
N 29 27.10
D 25 23.36
SD 2 1.87
Total 107 100
Table shows the view of respondents about the statement that reads ‘introducing ethical

consumable products is simple and convenient’. The results in the table showed that there are 46

(42.06%) respondents agreed with the statement that launching ethical consumable products

simple and convenient. There are 5 (4.67%) respondent who strongly agree with the given

statement. The significant number of respondents (27.10%) remained neutral to the given

statement. More importantly, there are 25 (23.36%) respondent who disagreed with the statement

and only 2 (1.87%) respondents strongly disagreed with the statement.

It is important to note that almost half of the population believes introducing ethical consumable

products is simple and convenient. This shows that launching ethical consumable products is as

simple as one thinks and very convenient. This view of the population explains that how

important ethically consumable products have become in these times. The clear majority of

respondents are of the view which dictates organizations to produce ethically consumable

products in the markets in order to capture their due share and sustainability. It is also to note

that the process of introducing ethically consumable products is so convenient and simple. For

this reason, there were majority of respondent who believe that ethical consumption has become

a paradigm that shifted the previous one with a short span of time. The radical growth of ethical

consumerism has forced brands to adopt ethical consumption as paradigm.

The significant portion of population disagreed with the given statement. This is perhaps due to

the lack of sensitization about ethical consumption. This finding indicates that the organizations

need to motivate this portion of society about the importance of ethical consumerism through

different measures. Economically active consumers are more prone to ethical consumerism as
they are likely to be more educated and sensitized. The more sensitization of community is

required. This is the step private and public organizations need to take into account. There are

possibilities of ethical consumerism to be more pronouncing in the days to come as there are

more brands to adopt ethical consumerism as a paradigm.

Table No. 11. ETHICAL CONSUMERISM IS PROMINENT IN DEVELOPED NATIONS

Scale Frequency Percentage

A 56 52.34
SA 3 2.80
N 24 22.43
D 22 20.56
SD 2 1.87
Total 107 100
Table shows the opinion of population about the statement that ethical consumerism is prominent

in developed nations. The results in the table highlights that there are as many as 56 (52.34%)

respondents who believe ethical consumerism is prominent in developed nations. There are only

3 (2.80%) respondents who are strongly agreed to the statement. There are 24 (22.43%)

respondents who remained neutral about the given statement. More importantly, there are 22

(20.56%) respondents who disagreed with the statement that ethical consumerism is prominent in

developed nations. There are only 2 (1.87%) respondents who strongly disagree with the given

statement.

The finding showed that the developed nations are likely to have more sensitized people about

the importance of ethical consumption. Moreover, there are organizations, corporations and

companies that are mostly influenced by the ethical consumption. It also showed that majority of

the population of developed nations are well-informed about the importance of ethical

consumption. The developed nations’ markets are now more active about the incorporation of
ethical consumption. The brands of developed nations are also likely to be those who have

adopted ethical consumption as a paradigm.

The significant portion of the population remained neutral about the given statement. This seems

that the population may not have enough understanding about the developed nations and their

markets. Perhaps, they are confused about the response due to the lack of knowledge about the

conditions in developed nations. These assumptions are produced to provide explanations of

present finding. However, there are notable segment of population who disagree with the

statement that ethical consumerism is prominent in developed nations. This finding show that not

all the market in the developed nations has adopted ethical consumerism, perhaps there are

certain pockets to be filled. However, there is one clarity that ethical consumerism is efficiently

prominent in the markets of developed nations due to several factors including level of

education, sensitized consumers about the importance of ethical consumerism, sensitized brands

and organizations about the use of ethically consumable products.

Table No. 12. ETHICAL CONSUMERISM WILL REPLACE CONVENTIONAL SHOPPING

TRENDS

Scale Frequency Percentage

A 51 47.66
SA 6 5.61
N 28 26.17
D 19 17.75
SD 3 2.80
Total 107 100
Table highlight the view of population about the statement that ‘ethical consumerism will replace

conventional shopping trends. The results found that there are 51 (47.66%) respondents who are

agreed with the statement. There are 6 (5.61%) respondents who are strongly agreed with the

statement that ethical consumerism is likely to replace conventional shopping trends. It shows
that there are almost half of the population who are of this view. Conventional shopping trends

are likely to be replaced with the ethical shopping trends in the days to come. This finding is an

important one, particularly the businesses, public and private sector organizations. This finding

also highlights a need to change the marketing strategies and policies. Moreover, this finding

also showed the importance of introducing ethically consumable products in order to capture the

market share. This is likely to be attaining the sustainability of the organizations of they adopt

ethical consumerism as a paradigm.

There are significant portion of population who think ethical consumerism will not replace the

conventional shopping trends. Such a view of respondents shows that conventional shopping

trends are not going to change in the future. However, on the other end, in reality, almost half of

the population shop ethically consumable products. Importantly, there are majority of population

who are of the view that ethical consumerism has shaped the course of market, behaviour of

consumers, organizations and trends in market. The markets are now dominated by the ethical

consumerism and organizational sustainability is associated with it.

Conclusion
The aim of the present research was to determine the concepts of ethical consumption and

assessment of factors that influence to adopt the behaviour of ethical consumption. Lastly, to

highlight strategies that can be applied to promote ethical consumerism in the markets. The study

has been conducted with the help of questionnaire and data was analysed using descriptive

statistics. The results of the present study showed that ethical consumerism has taken into

account major share of the markets, particularly in the developed nations. The developed

countries are well equipped with the knowledge about the importance of ethical consumerism,

this is perhaps the main reason that ethical consumerism is more pronouncing in these countries.

Moreover, the organizations of developed nations are also strongly influenced by the ethical

consumerism. Not only this, the organizations and brands are now introducing ethically

consumable products. This also confirms that there is significant number of population which

perform ethically sensitized shopping.

It was also found that ethical consumerism is more prominent in food and apparel sector. This

finding also highlight that health-friendly behaviour of the people have turned to ethically

shopping, particularly related to health. This is why almost more than half of the population

showed ethical consumerism is prominently prevailing in the food and apparel sector. Not only

this, there are investors who are influenced by the ethical consumption. The market seems to be

holistically dominated by the ethical consumerism. From production process to shipping and

shopping, the change is observed. Ethical consumerism is likely to replace the conventional

shopping trends, as half of the population confirms it.

The findings of the study highlighted that ethical consumption is growing exponentially. For

example, there are almost half of the population who believe ethical consumerism is growing
exponentially. Such a rapid growth is likely to change the shopping pattern in the markets. This

is an important finding that dictates ethical consumerism is important for the future organizations

and businesses. Today, even, almost all the brands have adopted ethical consumerism as a

paradigm. The adoption of ethical consumerism as a paradigm and introduction of ethically

consumable products is the need of the hour for not only public and private sector organizations

as well.

There are many likely factors that shape the view of people about the importance of ethical

consumerism. Social media has also played an important role in shaping the behaviour of

consumers. Labels on the products are also a factor which shaped the behaviour of people. This

made them now more sensitized about ethical consumerism. Campaigns about environment have

also helped shape the behaviour of people towards sustainable growth of society through ethical

consumerism. The eco-friendly consumerism is likely to prevail as the exponential growth of

ethical consumerism is taking place, as per the findings of the present research.

The research has found that the majority of the population is of the view that ethical

consumerism is important to sustainability. For instance, there are 42.99% respondents of the

view that ethical consumption is strongly associated with the sustainability. This showed that

ethical consumerism is a pre-stage to sustainability. It is important to note that the ethical

consumerism is not only important for public sector organizations but private sector

organizations as well. Both the sector need to replace their conventional products with the

ethically consumable products. This is the way forward for future businesses. This eco-friendly

environment in the market is likely to play an important role in the sustainable growth of society.

Public or private sector organizations need to introduce ethically consumable products in order to

achieve their sustainable growth. Moreover, marketing policies should reflect ethical
consumerism. For instance, the labelling of products must contain the sensitization material

about the importance of ethical consumption. Moreover, campaigns are needed to be launched on

massive scale to highlight the importance of ethical consumerism. There is a dire need to

challenge the conventional shopping trends as it requires to be replaced by the ethical shopping

trends. There are almost half of the population who shop ethically. Such a finding shows the

shopping trend in the market that how much it is shifted towards ethical consumerism. These

statistics indicates that there are solutions to global environmental threats. The possible market

shifts towards ethical consumerism is likely to change the exploitative production process and

market mechanisms.

An important factor that influenced the organizations is that there is a strong association between

ethical consumerism and sustainability. This indicates that the organizations and investors are

influenced by ethical consumerism. The half of the populations believed that ethical

consumption influenced the organizations. Moreover, there is half of a population that believes

the ethically consumable products are simple and convenient to introduce. Moreover, ethical

consumerism is prominent in developed nations, found the present study. The developed nations

are more likely to be sensitized about the importance of ethical consumerism. There are

organizations in the developed nations that are influenced by the ethical consumerism.

The study also found that paradigm of ethical consumption stimulates all brands. This finding

also highlights that brands are also playing an important role in shaping the behaviour of

consumers. The overall results of the present research showed that the ethical consumerism is

replacing the conventional consumerism at an exponential rate. This rapid change is just a tip of

the ice burg. The changing behaviours of consumerism is shaping markets more environment

friendly. The world is likely to become more sustainable as ethical consumerism dominates the
markets. This will bring a tangible change in the society. Ethical consumption is an important

factor of sustainability. The sensitization of the importance of ethical consumerism is need of the

hour to challenge the conventional consumerism. This is perhaps the only strategy through which

the sustainable growth could be achieved. The organizations, either public or private sector, are

being influenced by the ethical consumerism. The organizations need to introduce ethically

consumable products as much as can, this will not only bring due market shares to them but it is

likely to be sustainable.
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