The term ethical consumption does not refer to a clearly defined set of practices. Ethical consumption has become an umbrella term covering a wide range of concerns from ecological sustainability to labor standards and human rights. Ethical consumption practices include so-called sustainable consumption practices. This paper makes an attempt to review the ethical principles of ethical consumption, not only the traditional ones such as green purchasing and fair-trade but also emerging principles such as artificial intelligence, robotics and geo-engineering.

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Ethical Consumerism is the collective behavior of consumers who choose producers and products based on their ethical considerations, including concepts like sustainability, justice and fairness, as a way of solving some of the biggest global problems. Consumer citizens in the EU have found new arenas and ways to express their political opinions and to exert political influence by taking up this emerging trend in buying, which has come to be known as ethical consumerism. People are engaging in Boycotts and “Buycotts”, as well as working to develop a new discourse on market practices, all with the aim of using the market to vent their political concerns. This paper looks at newer practices and philosophies of those who are said to be engaging in the act of ethical consumerism.

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By addressing the social effects associated with resource use, the aim of this paper is to elucidate upon the role of ethical consumption. Qualitative analysis of social issues was conducted for each stage of the resource lifecycle. At the mining stage, there are difficulties related to lifestyles, culture, and employment of indigenous people. Mining companies strive to respond to these social issues as business risks under the concept of social license to operate. The idea of responsible mining and mineral use, which extends the concept, emphasizes avoidance of social effects while taking into consideration the supply chain after mining. Review of industry guidance has revealed that considerable attention has been devoted to the human rights of laborers. At the resource recycling stage, for instance, problems arise with the scrapping of end-of-life home appliances, which can lead to domestic fire accidents at their storage and issues of child labor in unsafe work conditions during the recycling processes in developing countries. A review of recent research papers was undertaken to help grasp quantitative relations between consumption, resource extraction, and social effects. Finally, this paper describes why ethical products are effective, also for resource-intensive goods, and the role ethical consumers play in promoting this.

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The development of sustainable corporate supply chains is essential to making the globalized economy more sustainable, and pressure from two major stakeholders, consumers, and investors will accelerate corporate movement in that direction. If ethical consumption demand grows to become mainstream, corporations will shift to ethical products by adopting sustainable supply chains. Additionally, if investors focusing on ESG factors come to appreciate such actions and provide a positive evaluation of corporate value, corporations will shift to sustainable supply chains and production of ethical products. Currently in Japan, both ethical consumption and ESG investment are still at an early stage. However, consumer attitudes are favorable regarding ethical consumption, with more than 60% of consumers sympathizing with the idea of ethical products. The Japanese ESG investment market is also developing quickly, growing more than seven-fold between 2014 and 2016 due to the introduction of the Japanese stewardship code and the corporate governance code. Global market share is, however, only two percent and further growth is expected due to the high level of interest in ESG investment on the part of major government pension funds.

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Certifications and labels aim to provide information on how ethical products are and give specific criteria for consumers. They are prevalent in a wide range of industrial fields including not only organic and fair trade, but also agriculture, forestry, fisheries, textiles, and various commodities. However, no unified “ethical certification” scheme exists at present, and there are a lot of differences among the labels and certifications in their contents, transparency, and reliability. For example, in the field of organic textiles, much attention is given to the keyword “ethical fashion.” Some certification schemes regarding organic cottons have played a crucial role in giving mass-market appeal to ethical consumption. Nowadays, addressing environmental and social problems throughout the supply chain has become a necessity. In this paper, I give some examples of internationally accepted third-party certifications that are also being used in various Japanese industries. I go on to discuss the role of certification and labels in popularizing ethical consumption.

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The Sanpo-yoshi principle of Omi-shonin (Omi-merchants) is the essential spirit of CSR, it shares so much in common with the modern concept of ethical consumerism and lifestyle. Shiga Bank sees CSR as one of its roles as a bank, and acts with an attitude of corporate citizen in fostering sustainable growth within society. This is why Shiga Bank has moved quickly to develop CSR-based activities that take into account the three key concepts of environment, welfare and culture. Situated close to Lake Biwa, Shiga Bank places particular importance on environmental management in its social mission, continuously working to incorporate environmental ideals into its management process.
　By providing environmentally minded finance services to the community, Shiga Bank is contributing to the creation of a sustainable society, and the life blood of the economy. Shiga Bank has put into place measures that aim to reconcile the twin imperatives environmental protection and finances.

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A successful community-based waste management system is being carried out in Sukunan Village, located 5km west of the center of Yogyakarta in Indonesia. In this waste-management system, villagers separate their household waste into four categories: plastic, paper, glass and metal, and organics. The recyclable wastes are sold to garbage traders while the organic waste is being converted into compost as a plant fertilizer. Some of the wastes are being “up-cycled” into more valuable products, including handicraft items created from discarded plastic bags. These activities generate income for the village. In addition, as a result of the waste-management system, the living environment of the village has been drastically improved. This paper introduces the details of Sukunan Village’s waste-management system and discusses ways to deal with waste management at a local level in developing countries.

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