Green Consumerism and the Food Industry: Further Developments

Follows up an earlier article which held that consumer power would change the market, forcing manufacturers and retailers to respond to social and ethical concerns. Shows that, in practice, the trend has been driven by industry rather than the consumer, as conscious consumerism has been hard hit by the recession of the late 1980s/early 1990s,whereas the long‐term policies initiated by industry are now coming to maturity. Considers the social implications, the cost of manufacturers and discusses recent research which gives a confusing picture of the degree to which companies have accepted and are acting on their social responsibilities. Suggests that only the top 25 corporations have set a really strong lead. Discusses the proposed introduction of the Fairtrade Mark at the end of 1993 which will indicate that a product has been assessed against social and environmental criteria and conforms to a high standard which provides genuine benefits to poor products.