ethical shopping

mariadm

Hi all,

I'm working on a project for college on ethical shopping (anything from eco products to fair trade, buying local, organic food, animal welfare, etc) and looking for some feedback on the topic.

Basically, I would like to know if people check ethical credentials on products when shopping offline and if you do, does this change when buying online? Are you more likely to check ethical labels online or offline?

Also, is there any particular products you would be more likely to check (eg. food, cosmetics...)? why?

Thank you all!

Maria

Truley

When it comes to cosmetics and cleaning products I always go for what I think is a natural, environmentally conscious brand. For example I will use Ecover laundry liquid, washing up liquid and toilet cleaner etc. Shampoos, deodrant and soap is usually Weleda, Faith in Nature, Tom's of Maine. When it comes to food, I grow alot of my own veg myself, and will buy organic or local food when I can.

I am more likely to do this with cleaning and cosmetic products because it's easier to research. I'm a bit more skeptical about 'organic' or 'fairtrade' food, as there's no way of telling yourself really.

Hope this helps

mariadm

Thanks so much Truley,

do you tend to research the products online and then buy then in your local shop? or do you buy them online as well?

why is it that you distrust the organic and fair trade ones?

Maria

Truley

mariadm wrote: »

Thanks so much Truley,

do you tend to research the products online and then buy then in your local shop? or do you buy them online as well?

I don't buy anything online, I buy shampoo and cleaning products in my local health shop and get them refilled there too. Research is really just looking at the ingredients label and judging from that.

why is it that you distrust the organic and fair trade ones?

Maria

I think that the term organic is a name and it doesn't necessarily equate to ethical or healthy. I think food can have organic ingredients but still be mass produced and exported long distances. With shampoo etc you can read the ingredients, but it's not as easy to assess the quality of food. I can't really tell if tesco organic carrots are any better than regular carrots, only trust what the label tells me.

However I'll admit I don't know enough about the science or economics behind organic or fairtrade food, which is why I remain skeptical and will grow or source my own food as much as possible.

dudara

Moved to Humanities

dudara