Ethical shopping at the crossroads: out of the niche and into the mainstream

Dear All,

Today was spent at an all day conference called 'Ethical shopping at the crossroads'. It was insightful and yet at times rather frustrating. I was happy to be present as a delegate for the World Luxury Ethical Council and exchange ideas and contacts at the breakout sessions.

The key point which I took away from the whole day was 'sustainability' and the issues we face as consumers in the market between buying ethical and understanding the overall principles. The question which kept on coming up from the delegates is, whose responsibility is it? The Government; The Industry; The Individual Consumer? I believe its the consumer, we as individuals have a choice to pay or not to pay for the product or service. However, its up to ethical organizations and media to do their part in demystifying the terms of ethical business practises. Simpler and easier ratings and labels need to be applied across the board so it doesn't confuse the average consumer. Work is been done and yet we still have a lot of distance to cover to make things clearer.

I really feel like we're in the heart of the Victorian industrial revolution when the railway system was been laid out across Britain. Multiple gauges for railway tracks were been adopted and no industry standard had been established. So it was impossible to have a unified network until one industry gauge was recognized and set. This is where 'ethical business practises' are in terms of gauging and setting. Eventually, one system will apply........

All the best
Andreas