Amidst a rising cost of living,Australian prioritise affordability over sustainable or ethical products.Monique Westermann
A new study confirms this sentiment,finding that affordability is the biggest factor in Australians’ purchasing decisions.
The latest,published by Baptist World Aid in partnership with Be Slavery Free,set out to determine Australian consumer attitudes towards modern slavery,sustainability and ethical consumption.
It found that value and cost matter most to consumers,with 73 per cent of responders saying they are driven by value for money,66 per cent by good quality and 54 per cent by price.
Despite this,it found Australians are increasingly aware of issues like modern slavery and sustainability – and wanting to shop better.
Sarah Knop,advocacy manager at Baptist World Aid,says she wants to see more Australians turning this knowledge into action. “What was disappointing to see is just how much the cost of living crisis has really impacted people’s ability to turn their awareness into action that will make a real difference to people working in global supply chains,but also to the planet.”
Eloise Zoppos,an academic at Monash University who specialises in retail behaviour and consumer research,agrees that price is the number one factor when it comes to purchasing decisions.
She adds that widespread greenwashing and confusing marketing tactics are another barrier. “Consumers can sometimes find it hard to work out whether a product really is sustainable or not,” says Zoppos. “There are a lot of terms that brands use that are not always made clear.”
The European Union is just one example of how government policy can help shift behaviour.
The difficulties of sustainable shopping amidst a rising cost of living has also raised questions of moral responsibility. Is it,for instance,classist to criticise those who purchase fast fashion? What does it mean to frame every one of our purchases as a moral decision?
Matt Beard is a moral philosopher and the program director of the Vincent Fairfax Fellowship at the Cranlana Centre for Ethical Leadership.
He says criticisms on a purely individual level erase what is a far more complex situation. “The challenge with putting the work on the consumer to hold all of the ethical responsibility for the way in which they act is that it lets major suppliers and manufacturers off the hook.”
Beard says moral outrage directed towards those who engage in something like fast fashion is not helpful,and should be channelled into positive action we are able to take.
“It’s really important that as individuals we take responsibility,but we also prioritise holding systems accountable rather than taking all that energy and directing it towards other people who are as stuck in this situation as we are.”
So,does moral responsibility increase with wealth? Put simply,yes,says Beard.
The more possible it is for it is for someone to act a certain way (buying a more sustainable,but expensive product),and the less justification they have tonot act that way (buying fast fashion when they can afford to shop elsewhere),the greater the responsibility.
But it’s not just about income,he adds,but “your level of education and the amount of time that you have in order to become aware of what options are available to you”.
Knop says there are plenty of ways people can vote for sustainability without their wallets. “If we think of ourselves,not just as consumers but as global citizens,then that takes our focus away from buying new things and towards other actions that will impact brands,government and global supply chains that don’t necessarily cost us anything.”
The biggest thing,of course,is just to buy less. “One quote I love from Vivienne Westwood,” Knop says,“is ‘buy less,choose well,and make it last’.”
Other actions,she says,include writing to corporations to ask for changes to how they manufacture and distribute products,and talking to friends and family about how they can shop more sustainably.
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