A new breed of Buyer
Do high minded ideals take a back seat when we’re faced with a recession? If you’re struggling to keep up with the mortgage repayments are you going to fork out on fair-trade coffee? Are you going to stand firm in your hessian trousers or are the deals on the high streets looking increasingly tempting? The economic downturn has brought out the naysayers in their droves but a recent review of ethical shopping shows rapid growth across Europe and it’s not just the consumers that have held their ground.
A five-country study by GfK NOP, the market research group, revealed that a third of respondents would pay a 5-10 per cent price premium for many ethical products, highlighting the motivation for international groups to address their buying habits.
Ethical sourcing, both through fair trade and ethical trade, is now part of the mainstream of retailing. With large supermarkets under pressure to improve both the returns to small producers and conditions of employment within their supply chains, they have introduced compulsory training to raise their Buyers’ awareness of the ethical issues and effects that purchasing practices have on labour standards.
Fashion retailers have also recognised the importance of integrating ethical criteria into their practices are also making a long term commitment to ethical buying. At a recent conference in London, companies including Gap Inc. and New Look reached a consensus on how to improve the conditions of workers in global supply chains. Key to this initiative was the education of Buyers, getting them to ‘think worker’ and to take into account the impact of their decisions on workers, as well as including ethical criteria along with cost and quality when selecting suppliers.
With a new, more ethically minded breed of Buyer negotiating with suppliers, there is real hope that the products on our shelves come guilt free.
