What Ethical Consumerism means for Starbucks Essay

What Ethical Consumerism means for Starbucks - Essay Example The conclusion will include a critical assessment of ethical consumerism in lieu of the evidence collected from primary and secondary research. The assessment will be limited to Starbucks. Finally, the paper will present recommendations as to how Starbucks can become more ethical. Consumers always want to be associated with products or services that are â€Å"clean,† meaning they do not bear any mark of malpractice. This orientation is influenced by many things, but it forms part of consumers’ personal philosophy. With natural resources becoming increasingly limited, and the degradation of human principles becoming increasingly blatant, governments and consumers have shifted attention to sustainable business practices. The sustainability message has been spread widely since the advent of the 21st century, and its core lies ethical consumerism. Globalisation has made society more interconnected, so much so that negative situations at one end of the globe are felt another end. A century ago, consumers did not care much about the methods used to deliver products and services provided they satisfied their needs. However, globalisation has ensured that unethical and immoral business practices affect consumers around the world in one way or the other. This explains the increasing popularity of ethical consumerism. This paper will discuss the various dynamics surrounding the concept. Ethical consumerism, also known as positive buying, can be defined, first, as a variant of consumer activism. Its basis lies in the belief that consumers should have a say in the products and services they pay for, and that they should be recognized and respected as valuable members of the supply chain. Ethical consumerism is guided by the notion that all purchases are motivated by moral choices.