Friday, May 16, 2008

Comment on Dim Bulb: The Ethics of Ethics


Here's link to my good friend's branding and marketing blog, Dim Bulb. He discusses whether socially responsible corporations actually have an advantage in the marketplace.

Dim Bulb: The Ethics of Ethics

As Jonathan points out, and several people commenting confirm, consumers often don't "do as they say". Ethical consumerism sounds good but people aren't always willing to make the personal sacrifice.

I was a vegetarian for many years. Inevitably the topic came up during meals and most carnivores at the table felt compelled to explain why they were eating less meat. Usually, the reason involved their health. They assumed I didn't eat meat because I wanted to be more healthy. I try to be a healthy eater, but that wasn't the reason I was a vegetarian. I was a vegetarian because I was opposed to factory farming and the inhumane treatment of animals. When I mentioned factory farming as the reason, generally the friendly conversation about meat-eating ended rather abruptly.

The conclusion I draw from this (based purely on my personal anecdotal evidence) is that the majority of people change their behavior if there is a direct benefit to them. For most people, "doing the right thing" in a consumer situation doesn't result in enough of a direct benefit to make them change their behavior. Helping an old lady across the street provides direct feedback to the do-gooder. However, helping an old lady earn a living wage in Bolivia by purchasing fairly traded goods isn't quite the same.

What's my point? The best advertisers don't just rely on consumer's conscience to spur them to action. They give consumers a direct, personal benefit plus an ethical benefit. Clorox delayed the introduction of their Greenworks line by 6 months to make sure that it worked as well as other chemical-based cleaners. Many other eco-friendly lines of cleaners had failed to win over mainstream consumers because they just didn't work as well. The Greenwork's website contains an amalgamation of direct consumer and environmental benefits. While it might not win over the people who are already using environmentally friendly products, it goes a long way in giving the average consumer a reason to pay slightly more for a "green" product.