Research Handbook On Ethical Consumption

Presenting a contemporary reflection on ethical and sustainable consumption, this insightful Research Handbook offers discussions on the challenges and complexity of living an ethical and sustainable life, and for the researchers who study them. Featuring cutting-edge, multidisciplinary research from authors with unique perspectives and expert insights, this Research Handbook takes a deeper look at the past, present, and future of ethical and sustainable consumption.

Focusing on ethical consumers, their behavior, discourses and narratives as well as the social and political contexts in which they operate, this text provides a summary of the manner and effectiveness of their actions.

Arising from foundations in green and eco-consumerism, ethical consumption is a multidisciplinary area of research. This shortform book presents an expert view of the empirical evidence on ethical consumption, incorporating perspectives from marketing, psychology and sociology. It takes both a historical and a thematic perspective, covering definitions of ethical consumption, typologies of ethical consumer practices, successes brought about from consumer actions and the current challenges. It also focuses on the emergence of contemporary perspectives on ethical consumer behaviour from three discrete perspectives: those focusing on consumer segmentation (the profiling of ethical consumers), those which take a psychological approach (the decision- making processes which underpin ethical consumption) and those which are sociological in nature (the identities and practices which underpin ethical consumption). The book finally synthesises these perspectives in the context of the ‘problems’ that are often claimed to exist, such as the existence of the ‘attitude– behaviour gap’, and provides conclusions which make recommendations for practice and further research. It will be of interest to academics and students of marketing, consumption and related fields, as well as to practitioners and policymakers who want to understand more about the evidence pertaining to ethical consumers, what motivates them, and how to encourage and educate them to consume more ethically.

Ethical consumerism is on the rise. No longer bound to the counter-cultural fringes, ethical concerns and practices are reaching into the mainstream of society and being adopted by everyday consumers – from considering carbon miles to purchasing free-range eggs to making renewable energy choices. The wide reach and magnitude of ethical issues in society across individual and collective consumption has given rise to a series of important questions that are inspiring scholars from a range of disciplinary areas. These differing disciplinary lenses, however, tend to be contained in separate streams of research literature that are developing in parallel and in relative isolation. Ethics in Morality and Consumption takes an interdisciplinary perspective to provide multiple vantage points in creating a more holistic and integrated view of ethics in consumption. In this sense, interdisciplinary presupposes the consideration of multiple and distinct disciplines, which in this book are considered in delineated chapters. In addition, the Editors make an editorial contribution in the final chapter of the book by combining these separate disciplinary perspectives to develop a nascent interdisciplinary perspective that integrates these perspectives and presents platforms for further research.

This Handbook compiles the state of the art of current research on sustainable consumption from the world�s leading experts in the field. The implementation of sustainable consumption presents one of the greatest challenges and opportunities we are fac

From boycotts of plastics and palm oil by consumers, to the tracking of carbon footprints and modern slavery in their supply chains by businesses, buying ethically has now fully captured the public interest. The Handbook of Ethical Purchasing is designed to help both ordinary people and industry professionals to understand this new movement, its political background and, most importantly, how to become involved more effectively By looking in turn at sustainable supply chain management by companies, green public procurement by governments, and the ethical choices made by consumers, this book operates as a practical handbook for people across all industries and sectors to become involved in the important changes that need to be made. It provides the key principles, language, and techniques that companies, campaigners, certification schemes, and regulators are beginning to use to address the moral, practical, and political problems that commonly occur in this transition to more ethical economies. Written by a leading authority on ethical consumption, Rob Harrison, the book provides the reader with the tools to operate with confidence and effectiveness in an easy-to-access format. It also provides a useful structure to understand this new subject area for students of marketing, supply chain management, and business studies generally.

A not-so-quiet revolution seems to be occurring in wealthy capitalist societies - supermarkets selling ‘guilt free’ Fairtrade products; lifestyle TV gurus exhorting us to eat less, buy local and go green; neighbourhood action groups bent on ‘swopping not shopping’. And this is happening not at the margins of society but at its heart, in the shopping centres and homes of ordinary people. Today we are seeing a mainstreaming of ethical concerns around consumption that reflects an increasing anxiety with - and accompanying sense of responsibility for - the risks and excesses of contemporary lifestyles in the ‘global north’. This collection of essays provides a range of critical tools for understanding the turn towards responsible or conscience consumption and, in the process, interrogates the notion that we can shop our way to a more ethical, sustainable future. Written by leading international scholars from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds - and drawing upon examples from across the globe - Ethical Consumption makes a major contribution to the still fledgling field of ethical consumption studies. This collection is a must-read for anyone interested in the relationship between consumer culture and contemporary social life.

A series of books which contain previously published information sourced from newspapers, magazines, journals, government reports, surveys, websites and lobby group literature. The series offers up to date diverse information about the social issues shaping our changing world.