Arnold on ethical marketing

CHRIS ARNOLD

At the recent Co-operatives Society event, 'Ethical Shopping at the Crossroads’, there was a clear message to brands and retailers they don't want to hear. We need to consume less which means brands need to reduce their marketing effect and accept less profits.

However, the above headline is a pipedream (and a cheap way to get you to read this blog).

Britain (like America and most of Europe) is wealthy. Even our poor live better lifestyles than millions of the better off in the Third World. In fact 1% of the West have the same amount as 57% of the Third World. And with this wealth comes indulgence and waste. Which in turns is trashing the planet and creating a serious health problem.

Since the Second World War we have become mass consumers. The more we earn the more we churn, from new gadgets to food. The lifetime of many household products is getting less and when they break we prefer to buy new, arguing it’s cheaper than fixing it. Recently a fridge was advertised as guaranteed to last 10 years. 40 years ago you wouldn’t have bought a fridge unless you expected it to last at least 20 years. Computers now last a few years before you need to upgrade, a totally managed situation designed to increase churn. (Did you know IT produces more CO2 than air travel?)

We also spend less on food than ever before, on average as little as 9% of our income on the supermarket shopping – compare that to 60% in China. It’s no wonder we have an obesity problem (and an estimated 1.3 million of people suffering from malnutrition due to bad diet in the UK). Shockingly there are one billion obese people in the West but many billion starving elsewhere. Never has the world been so unbalanced.

The outcome of this consumer glut is increasing landfill – we throw away enough waste every 2 hours to fill the Albert Hall. 25% of our shopping basket ends up in the trashcan. 25% of food produced in this country gets wasted.

We need to move from 'value for money' to 'values for money'. We have to evaluate the real cost of what we buy and consume.

The big challenge is to slow down the churn. It’s only by consuming less that we will waste less. Household appliances need to be designed to last longer and be easily repairable. Food needs to be measured. However, this means less for shareholders too.

Somehow I can’t see that happened as I doubt there’s a CEO in the country who’s brave enough to tell their shareholders they need to reduce profits so we can reduce damage to people and the planet. But then until Stuart Rose raised the green flag above M&S who would have thought any retail chain would take ethics so seriously.