What is Ethical Consumption? Introduction of the organizations and activities that have been incorporated; The present situation and problem analysis of Japan
The term “Ethical Consumption” is related to the SDGs adopted by the United Nations in 2015. Especially in the face of environmental damage, food loss, global warming and other issues, advocating ethical consumption can bring benefits to the global environment and resources, society and people. Accordingly, it is concerned by the government, enterprises and individuals, and is being implemented.
In order to effectively implement ethical consumption, it is important to understand what “Ethical Consumption” is, the actual efforts and the current situation and problems in Japan.
CONTENTS
What is “Ethical Consumption”?
・ Definitions, concepts, related things, specific actions and specific examples
Organizations and Related Activities to Implement Ethical Consumption
・The Citizens’ Network to Build a Sustainable Society through Responsible Consumption (SSRC)
・Recommendation of Sustainable Fashion Habits (Consumer Affairs Agency, CAA)
・Food Loss Reduction Special Site (CAA)
・Afu no Tamaki 2030 Project (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, MAFF)
・Circulation of Plastic Resources (Ministry of the Environment, MOE)
・Plastic Smart Campaign (MOE)
・Food Loss Portal Site (MOE)
・Ethical Association
・Japan Ethical Initiative (JEI)
・Japan Sustainable Labels Association (JSL)
The current situation and problems of ethical consumption in Japan
・Consumer Affairs Agency Report (2020)
・Dentsu “Ethical Consumption Awareness Survey 2020”
Summary
What is “Ethical Consumption”?
・ Definitions, concepts, related things, specific actions and specific examples
Ethical consumerism, also known as “theoretical consumption” or “moral consumption”, is defined as the consumption behavior that considers the welfare of people, society, environment, community and animals. In a nutshell, consumers are aware of social problems and think about what they can do to solve these problems through their daily shopping behavior.
This is an initiative related to the 17 goals of the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) adopted by the United Nations, especially the 12 goals “Responsibility for Creation and Use”.
Next, let’s look at things and specific actions that related to ethical consumption.
Fair Trade: Means fair and equitable trade. Fair trade products have a recognition label. To reward workers fairly, consumers should choose and buy fair trade products at fair prices.
Local Production, Local Consumption: It is a behavior of consuming locally produced products. It brings merits for the environment and society, also, the products have certification marks such as organic certification and sustainable seafood certification (MSC certification / ASC certification). Local production and local consumption can reduce the greenhouse gases emitted by delivery and the resources used for packaging.
Renewable energy: In the era of population explosion, high greenhouse gas emissions and other problems, the use of solar energy, wind energy, biomass energy and other energy can prevent the depletion of resources and reduce environmental pollution.
There are other kinds of ethical consumption, such as
Ethical consumption that considers people and society
・ Disability support products
・ Donated goods, etc.
Community-friendly ethical consumption
・ Disaster area products/ Reconstruction support products
・ Traditional crafts, etc.
Environmentally-friendly ethical consumption
・ Eco products
・ Recycled products
・ Products with certification labels related to resource protection, etc.
Ethical consumption in consideration of animal welfare
・ Ethical fashion
・ Cosmetics that have abolished animal experiments, etc.
Organizations and related activities involved in ethical consumption
The Citizens’ Network to Build a Sustainable Society through Responsible Consumption (SSRC)
This network is an NGO / private organization established in 2016, and has increased from 33 member groups to 38 member groups by 2020. They aim to achieve sustainable consumption, production, and a sustainable society by changing the buying and selling behavior of consumers and producers.
Click here to view the list of member groups
In addition, table below is about the organizations and related activities involved in ethical consumption.
The Present Situation and Problem Analysis of Japan
Consumer Affairs Agency Report (2020)
In the “Consumer Awareness Survey on Ethical Consumption” (*) conducted by the Consumer Affairs Agency, more than half of the respondents (59.1%) answered that they were “interested” (very interested + to some extent) in ethical consumption. Among many vocabularies about ethical consumption, the recognition of “ECO” is the highest, accounting for 72.6%, while the recognition of “Ethical Consumption” accounts for only 12.2%. Additionally, 36.1% of those who knew the language of ethical consumption replied that “they have implemented ethical behavior”.
(*) This questionnaire is conducted once a year. In 2022, the respondents were 2803 ordinary consumers aged 16 -65 nationwide.
Dentsu “Ethical Consumption Awareness Survey 2020”
Next, according to the “Ethical Consumption Awareness Survey 2020” conducted by Dentsu on 1,000 teenage to 70-year-old men and women across the country, 24.0% of the respondents knew the term “Ethical Consumption”, of which only 5.7% said they knew what “Ethical Consumption” meant.
The survey shows that the food industry (38.1%) is strong in ethical efforts, followed by the automobile (23.4%) and daily necessities (23.1%) industries, and in the power, heat and hydro energy industries, the consumption intention of “renewable energy” is the highest at present.
The following results are obtained about the ranking of “purchase experience” and “purchase intention” of ethical consumption.
| Ranking | Industries with a lot of purchasing experience | Industries with high purchase intention |
| Top 1 | Food | Food |
| Top 2 | Daily Necessities | Daily Necessities |
| Top 3 | Clothing | Household Electrical Appliances |
For the question of “Awareness, Empathy, and Willingness to Implement 20 items related to ethical consumption”, the following answers are obtained.
| Awareness | Empathy | Willingness to Implement | |
| Higher | ・“Prevention of Food Loss” (44.3%%) ・ “Renewable Energy” (43.0%%) | ・“Prevention of Food loss” (46.6%) ・ “Renewable Energy” (39.2%) | ・“Prevention of Food Loss” (36.1%) ・Local Production, Local Consumption (25.1%) |
| Lower | ・”Divestment” (7.7%) ・ Ethical Financial Investment (9.3%) | ・”Divestment” (10.8%) ・”Vegetarian, Vegan, Halal” (11.6%) | ・”Divestment” (3.7%) ・”Vegetarian, Vegan, Halal” (4.0%) |
Understanding consumers’ buying conditions, reasons for buying and reasons for not buying ethical products is conducive to promoting ethical consumption.
| Purchase Conditions | Reasons for Purchase | Reason for NOT Purchase |
| “If the price is the same” (35.3%) | “If buying the similar products, it will be better to buy products that contribute to society” (62.7%) | “Don’t know much about ethical consumption” (28.3%) |
| “If can understand the benefits” (34.5%) | “Interested in environmental and social issues” (51.8%) | “Don’t know which commodity is related to ethical consumption” (23.4%) |
In addition, a study found that affected by the new coronavirus (COVID-19), 30.9% of people had increased awareness of ethical consumption, and 6.5% actually took action.
Concrete actions:
“No waste / less consumption” (6.2%)
“Consider what is beneficial to the environment / Take environmental behavior” (6.0%)
“Reduce food loss / use up of food without waste” (5.7%)
Summary
After knowing the knowledge and current situation of ethical consumption, are you willing to start ethical consumption?
Promoting ethical consumption is the power to change the future. Therefore, it is very important to choose and consume products that take into account the environment, society, people, etc. when shopping. Anyone can start ethical consumption immediately, so please cooperate to solve social problems from your daily consumption habits.