Consumer trends
05/ Ethical consumerism

Ethical Consumerism trend grew, among others, from the social dynamic of Transformative Activism. People care more and more not just about what they buy but also how and by whom it was made, considering environment, animal welfare, human rights and social justice in the purchasing process. Consumers expect ethical behaviour from brands and continue to hold institutions and corporations accountable for their choices and decisions. Such a demand, as it usually happens, generates supply: more and more brands make ethical claims. But are consumers still able to tell empty promises from the real ones?

In the pre-internet era, brands were almost fully in charge of their image, steering it through one-way mass media communication. When online channels emerged, customers started voicing their opinions and, with time, getting in direct contact with brands, generating an ongoing discussion about the quality of products and services. And as consumer awareness kept growing, ethics began to play an important role in this discussion, too. Research conducted by the Co-op convenience stores shows a massive growth in the overall spending on ethically produced goods in the last 20 years.

This dynamic creates a general imperative for brands to commit to ethical standards. For big corporate businesses this potentially meant a massive shift, often on a business level. So, they delayed getting on board for quite a long time. Meanwhile, new players started creating brands that truly stem from ethical commitments, introducing innovation that satisfies customers’ needs to buy responsibly. The market dynamic suddenly flipped: today, small players dictate new standards, introducing products with fully transparent supply chains, pricing models, carbon labelling,… and the big players try to mimic them, often rather superficially.

As a result, we see how the legitimate ethical labels (such as Fair Trade), need to compete with claims, words, in fact, that are becoming values in their own right. Take “sustainable”, for example: does this word have any meaning anymore? Used and abused across industries, sustainability has been making a career in communications of all types of consumer brands, referring loosely to products, packaging, production processes and much, much more. Oversaturation with green washing and purpose washing will most likely push us to the stage in which claims sustainability or ethics are no longer differentiators. Rather, they will become a bare minimum that needs to be met (or actively worked towards) in order to enter any meaningful dialogue with the audience.

The true proof will need to be found in transparency. A great example of radical transparency (in this case focused on pricing and ingredients) and how it directly can influence branding, is Upfront, a Dutch food label that puts the content from the back of packaging to the front. They challenge misinformation in the food industry and create products with simple ingredient lists, a fully transparent pricing model and minimal branding. In their case, the core brand value - honesty - meets search for the best product value. A good inspiration on how simple ethos can drive the entire brand universe.

Trends like 'ethical consumerism' already reshape the branding landscape. But what influence will they have in the long run? Go ahead and download your crystal ball: the “Superhuman” report that contains six scenarios on the future of brands and branding.