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Isabelle SzmiginBirmingham Business School, University House, The University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK Tel: + 44 (0) 121 414 7357; Fax: + 44 (0) 121 414 7791; E-mail: i.t.szmigin@bham.ac.uk

and awareness in ethical and global trade issues, 2,3 such that, in Britain, sales of cer-tifi ed fair trade products increased by 46 per cent from 2002 to 2003 reaching an estimated £ 92m in value 4 while, in North America and the Pacifi c Rim over the same period, the industry grew 37 per cent leading to total sales of $ 251m. 5

The growth in sales of fairly traded products has been accompanied by an increased interest among consumers with regards to the ethical attributes of the products they buy. 6,7 While organisations such as ethics.org have identifi ed factors by which they assess a company and its products ’ ethical score, defi ning an ethical

INTRODUCTION: THE GROWTH OF ETHICAL BRANDS Over the last ten years, ethical brands have become a global phenomenon. Fair trade businesses, particularly, those that follow a system of exchange that respects produc-ers, communities, consumers and the environment, and is rooted in people-to-people connections, justice and sustaina-bility 1 have shown signifi cant growth in sales, in proliferation of product types and in their presence in mainstream retailing establishments, thus assuring increased awareness among consumers. The growth of interest in ethical goods has been underpinned by the increasing knowledge

Integrating ethical brands into our consumption lives Received (in revised form): 24th April, 2006

ISABELLE SZMIGIN is Professor of Marketing at Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham. She has extensive publications in the fi elds of consumer behaviour, consumer innovativeness, services management and relationship, including a recent book, Understanding the Consumer .

MARYLYN CARRIGAN is a senior lecturer in Marketing at Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham, from where she gained her PhD (Commerce). She has published extensively in the fi eld of marketing ethics and ethical consumption, and is on the editorial boards of the International Marketing Review and the Journal of Marketing Communications .

DEIRDRE O ’ LOUGHLIN is a lecturer in Marketing at the Kemmy Business School, University of Limerick, Ireland. Her research interests lie in the fi elds of Brand Management, Relationship Marketing, Services Marketing and International Marketing, and her PhD research focused on the role of Branding and Relationships in Irish Financial Services. She has published in several Irish, UK and International journals, and has presented at many Irish, UK and European conferences.

Abstract This paper considers the integration of ethical brands into mainstream consumption choices. After examining the growth and success of ethical brands within the last few years, the paper considers the branding issues that are of particular importance to ethical producers. It then identifi es four dimensions that help the ethical brand cross the divide between ethical production and consumer acceptance. The four dimensions, Distinction, Love, Hedonism and Aesthetics are explored both from their historical precedence in consumption and in light of how they are integrated into current communications of ethical brands. The paper concludes with some thoughts on the problems and opportunities for ethical brands in mainstream integration. Journal of Brand Management (2007) 14, 396 – 409. doi:10.1057/palgrave.bm.2550084; published online 13 April 2007

Keywords ethical brands ; consumption ; fair trade

Keywords ethical brands ; consumption ; fair trade

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brand from a consumer perspective is inevitably subjective, as people will have different ethical concerns. Smith 8 presents ethical purchasing as being ‘ an expression of the individual ’ s moral judgment in his or her purchase behavior ’ . Crane and Matten 9 suggest that the main essence of the concept of ethical consumption is ‘ the conscious and deliberate decision to make certain consumption choices due to per-sonal moral beliefs and values ’ . In devel-oping their defi nition, they make clear that ethical consumption may mean the conscious choice of particular products such as detergents low in bleach, as well as the rejection of others such as purchas-ing gasoline from Esso because of the company ’ s approach to global warming. Apart from worrying about pollution, waste and animal welfare, ethical consum-ers are likely to be concerned with the developing world and principally that producers should receive fair wages and improved working conditions. 10

An important aspect of the growth in sales for ethical products is that many can now be found on sale in the big super-markets alongside products without spe-cifi c ethical claims. Most supermarkets ’ websites contain information about their commitment to fair and ethical trade. For example, Tesco includes data on local sourcing, animal testing and supplier codes of contact, as well as a detailed explanation of the fair trade mark and specifi c ethical producers and brands stocked in Tesco stores. The appropriation of ethical attributes by the supermarkets poses, how-ever, a paradoxical problem for ethical producers. While incorporation into mainstream consumption has doubtlessly helped the signifi cant increase in purchas-ing ethical goods, the supermarkets them-selves have long been under fi re for practices that leave many producers worse off, 6,7 and for what some see as their

effectively muscling in on the ethical ter-ritory only when they anticipate it has real possibilities for their profi tability. 6

Highlighting the ethical quality of a product can form an important means for producers to add value in consumers ’ eyes ‘ over and above that of the “ equivalent ” commodity ’ . 6 There are dangers, however, for ethical producers where such attributes become part of a larger holistic offering, as it may reduce their raison d ’ ê tre to just a relevant and welcomed feature that can easily be replicated by big name brands. As ethical producers face increased com-petition from mainstream brands, they have to consider how they move forward in terms of their branding and competi-tive position. 11,12 Davies and Crane, 13 for example, describe in detail a number of dilemmas faced by the Day Chocolate Company including whether to distribute their chocolate through Shell outlets and the ethics of advertising chocolate to children.

In this paper, we focus upon the brand as a locus for discussion on how ethical products will develop and compete in mainstream commercial channels through identifying four dimensions based on pre-vious research, 14,15 which encapsulate val-ues potentially attractive to consumers interested in purchasing ethical goods. We begin by investigating the branding lit-erature to identify the means by which ethical brands can build their offering to consumers. We then consider the four dimensions of ethical brands, which we have termed Distinction, Love, Hedonism and Aesthetics, and assess their role in com-municating the ethical brand ’ s values. We use a range of examples to illustrate how these dimensions are identifi able in the communication of a number of ethical brands. Finally, we discuss the implications and challenges for ethical producers as they move into the mainstream marketplace.

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ETHICAL BRANDING ISSUES Ethical brands fi nd themselves in a posi-tion where they need to distinguish and differentiate themselves from others while at the same time ensuring that they meet the functional requirements of customers and their ‘ psychological or representa-tional needs ’ . 16 The importance of recognising the functional and represen-tational 17,18 or emotional 19,20 dimensions of brands is central to understanding how they may be positioned within existing markets. Functionality refers to the rational evaluation of brands and their ability to satisfy utilitarian requirements, while the representational or emotional dimensions may be defi ned as that aspect of the brand that helps consumers express something about themselves. 18

Success in brand building is a long-term process requiring the brand to develop its differentiating position 16 to act as a short-hand device in selection, 21 a promise of consistent quality, 17 a risk reducer 22 and a symbolic device in creat-ing and reinforcing a unique brand image or personality. To build their brands, ethi-cal producers have to carefully identify a balance between the appropriate func-tional and representational dimensions while ensuring that they can distinguish themselves in a form that will refl ect con-sumers ’ needs in terms of the motivations for the ethical choices they make. Some may, however, question the role of brand building for ethical companies at all, at a time when the role and infl uence of brands on modern society is under scru-tiny 23 and anti-branding movements such as Adbusters subvert and protest against many well-known brand names. Much anti-branding action is, in reality, less an objection to consumption per se , the objection is rather to the activities of cer-tain companies and particularly, where such companies appear to invade and

coerce the vulnerable, reduce effective choice or disadvantage other forms of production. Often the frustration with consumption is voiced in some extreme statement such as the hope that Euro Dis-ney ‘ burns to the ground ’ , 24 which does not refl ect the reality of most people ’ s acceptance of consumer society. Similarly, Holt 25 suggests that there are a range of concerns around the role of brands in today ’ s society, some to do with the nature of products and fi rms and some more to do with a disjuncture between the prom-ise of the brand and the activity of the corporation.

Despite these arguments, ethical brands clearly need very careful and relevant positioning in terms of the values they present to their customers. We now con-sider in more detail four dimensions that are present in the manner in which a number of ethical goods are positioned. These dimensions are built here on his-torical precedent and on previous research in the ethical consumption fi eld. We do not present these as exclusive to ethical brands or exhaustive or necessarily being appropriate to all consumers; rather, we see these dimensions as a means by which ethical brands have become integrated into mainstream consumption.

FOUR DIMENSIONS OF ETHICAL BRANDS There is continued academic and practi-tioner interest in values and values research as it is believed that values drive behav-iour. 26,27 From a review of the literature on the concept of values in brand man-agement, broad-based cultural values 26,28 can be differentiated from consumption or product-specifi c values that differenti-ate between products in a specifi c cate-gory. 16 – 18,29 While ethical brands work at one level with a consumer ’ s broader cul-

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tural values, we suggest a closer examina-tion of the actual consumption and product-specifi c values is also important to enable our understanding of how eth-ical brands are integrated into existing repertoires of purchasing and consump-tion behaviour.

To assist our understanding of the inte-gration of ethical brands into our consump-tion lives, we present four dimensions that we see as regularly incorporated into eth-ical brands. In doing so, we have built on an earlier work by Shaw et al ., 15 which considers the values of importance to consumers in ethical decision making and Schaefer and Crane 14 who developed three alternative views of green consump-tion, which, in particular, questioned the green consumer as a rational decision maker. They investigated green consump-tion as hedonistic self-indulgence, as a form of identity construction and as part of social relationships. We further these in our construction as Hedonism, Distinc-tion and Love and add a further dimen-sion, Aesthetics, all of which are discussed in relation to specifi c communications from a number of ethical producers. We do not suggest that these dimensions are either exhaustive or necessary in particu-lar choice situations. If, however, as the evidence from Shaw et al . 15 and Schaefer and Crane 14 indicate, the pertinence of particular values to consumers will, infl u-ence buying decisions, then in the increas-ingly competitive environment, ethical brands need to understand and pursue appropriate ways of communicating rel-evant values to their consumers.

For the purpose of this discussion, we suggest that a key identifi er of ethical brands is that while socially and environ-mentally aware, they are fi rmly placed within the existing framework of con-sumer markets. Ethical consumers do not deny consumption but rather choose

goods that refl ect their moral, ethical and social concerns. Ethical consumption is as much part of the active social process of consump tion with its material and sym-bolic dimensions as any other form of consumption and as such we should not view it in isolation but accept that ethical attributes will be measured by consumers among a bundle of other brand values. 10 Ethical consumption should be integrated into our general understanding of how consu mers consume and as such requires further exploration and investigation in terms of what it means to consumers beyond external and instrumental reasons such as welfare, pollution and appropriate disposal.

DISTINCTION Deriving distinction from an ethical pur-chase might suggest that value is drawn from conspicuous consumption 30 or the use of taste as a distinguisher. 31 It has been argued that a conspicuous donation is simply another form of conspicuous con-sumption and ‘ that altruism is a means of gaining acclaim ’ . 32 It is, however, widely accepted that the cultural meaning of goods is more diverse than Veblen ’ s focus on status was able to recognise, 33 and it benefi ts us to dig deeper into the nature of distinction as exemplifi ed in purchasing behaviour.

The concept of distinction also stemmed from an important debate in the 19th cen-tury related to a focus on productive and unproductive consumption. 34 While orig-inally associated with productive and unproductive labour, it also became linked to the more general moral categories such as virtue and vice, use and abuse, rational and irrational. The debate was informed by the ‘ social possibilities of economic chivalry ’ , 35 as civic-minded philanthropic Victorians often saw themselves as having

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consuming obligations and a duty to con-sume with a concern for others: prohibit-ing unproductive consumption and promoting that which was morally, eco-nomically or socially productive, 34 pub-licly eschewing irrational luxuries and making positive measures to provide pro-ductive forms of leisure and appropriate consumption for others. Similarly, ethical consumption allows consumers to distin-guish themselves through proactive pur-chasing and rejection; Handelman and Kozinets 36 refer to boycotters as taking part in ‘ conspicuous acts of anti-consump-tion ’ and similarly Friedman suggests that ‘ buycotting ’ 37 conspicuously rewards those companies for behaviour consistent with the concerns of particular consumer groups. Thus, we argue that ethical con-sumption can allow an active and con-spicuous response to the marketplace. Strong 38 emphasises that participation in fair trade requires consumers to pay more for products, make a greater effort to pur-chase them and engage in extensive search activities to ensure the ethical attributes of their purchases. Whether or not the consumer seeks status gains from such activity, there is likely to be a degree of social visibility inherent in such behav-iour. Just as conspicuous consumers are not deterred by high prices, ethical con-sumers, similarly, are often less concerned with the price of the commodity but look for reassurance that the goods have the appropriate ethical attribute and, in this case, the fair trade mark may act as an important sign of recognition. The choice of ethical brands can refl ect lifestyle choices and statements of personal iden-tity as much as prestige alternatives. Wright ’ s 12 interpretation of Caf é direct ’ s advertising suggests that a line used by the company ‘ So do yourself a favour and drink some ’ was used as a form of distinc-tion confi rming the consumer ’ s superior

taste and social status in a similar manner like the L ’ Oreal ’ s campaign slogan ‘ Because I ’ m worth it ’ . Wright makes a clear com-parison between the line used by Caf é -direct and Bourdieu 31 in that it is the quality of the product and the distinction it offers that acts as the rationale for the purchase of the fair trade brand, rather than any particular ethical attribute; in other words, the brand ’ s presentation does not rely on the ethical dimension for its inherent value proposition.

HEDONISM Holbrook and Corfman 39 defi ned a moral or virtuous consumption experience as intrinsically motivated where the appre-ciation of the experience is an end in itself, where virtue is its own reward. We suggest that the experience of purchasing an ethical brand in this way can offer hedonistic pleasure. The term hedonism may be associated with instant gratifi ca-tion and a connection with an egoistic, individualistic materialism conjuring up ideas of excess and selfi sh behaviour, yet, as Gabriel and Lang 40 reveal, there are many and contradictory opinions as to what it means to be hedonistic in modern society. An important informant for their discussion is Campbell, 41 whose modern hedonist seeks pleasure in emotion accom-panying all kinds of experiences, including those that may be sad and painful. His-torically, there have been many interpreta-tions of what hedonism may imply. Sidgwick 42 described egoistic hedonism as where the ultimate good is defi ned as the happiness of the individual, whereas uni-versalistic hedonism, akin to utilitarianism, suggests that we should act in a manner that brings about the most pleasure to the greatest number in the long term. Simi-larly, ethical hedonism requires actions that produce pleasure and prevent pain. In

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choosing to purchase ethical brands, con-sumers can be said to be acting hedonis-tically both in relation to their own feelings of pleasure from the purchase and in terms of the good they may bring to others. Human motivation may include wishing to see ourselves as possessing good qualities; we may gain pleasure from responding to what we consider to be our moral obligations. 41

Hedonism can be a legitimate dimen-sion of ethical consumption if we accept that doing the ‘ right thing ’ may be associ-ated with feelings of self-respect, which, in turn, provides us with feelings of pleas-ure. While consumer preferences are often driven by the anticipated hedonic experi-ence, this may still be within parameters of self-control or moral dimensions; con-sumers will even gain hedonic benefi ts from manipulating the choice sets they face. 43 So an ethical choice may be more appealing when made in the presence of less ethical choices, such as choosing the Dubble Bar over a Mars or Twix. Hedon-ism is likely to be more apparent in adver-tising for products such as chocolate that may be classifi ed as an indulgence. In the case of Divine chocolate, this was always tempered with a strong mention of the fairly traded attribute. One advertorial addresses the consumer thus: ‘ It ’ s time you indulged in some gorgeous chocolate with a clear conscience ’ and another line used in their advertising is ‘ Heavenly choc-olate with a heart ’ ; the brand fi rst encour-ages consumers to partake in hedonistic pleasure and secondly reminds them of the functional and emotional benefi ts of mak-ing an ethical purchase. Thus, while the Divine brand is clearly fl agged as guaran-teed fair trade, the producers are careful to present its credentials as quality chocolate with the hedonistic associations one would expect from such a product. While such hedonistic indulgence is typically associ-

ated with chocolate bars whether ethical or not, it is important for this brand to correspond with what consumers expect from their experience of chocolate, as well as with what they want in terms of an ethical purchase ( Figure 1 ).

LOVE The search for self-identity has been pre-sented in terms of our requirement for love, both of loving and being loved. 44 The need for love exemplifi ed in Maslow ’ s model 45 has been successfully interpreted into a myriad of marketing opportunities to meet people and have human contact. Similarly, much advertising relies on the image of people together as couples and families, conveying the understanding that the purchase of a brand will act as a defence from being alone. 46 Consuming provides opportunities to demonstrate our love for one another through the care and atten-tion we give to the purchases we make. There are times when we defi ne ourselves through the love we feel for others. Pro-thero 47 revealed the level of importance she placed upon the consumption choices for her child, often refl ecting an inner confl ict of doing the best for him, while at the same time balancing her environ-mentalist opposition to over-consump-tion. Schaefer and Crane 14 recognised that we may make special purchases for those dear to us, such as buying organic baby food when we do not normally buy organically grown goods for ourselves.

The feeling of responsibility expressed in Prothero ’ s account is part of the greater context of love and it is love that is often expressed in our choice of brands. Miller 48 suggests that we might use other terms such as care, concern, obligation and responsibility, but essentially these terms can be encompassed in a normative ideol-ogy of long-term commitment rather

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than an idealised romantic form. Impor-tantly, this version of love is long lasting and infl uenced by general beliefs about what we should do in our social relations. Such a description of love serves as an important dimension to ethical consump-tion that encompasses deep feelings of concern for family members and friends, expressed through provisioning with care for their environment, and ensuring that the goods provided are not sullied by exploitative practices. Ethical consump-tion can be used as a basis for emulation, indicating values and moral codes. In a

broader sense, ethical consumption shows an active concern for people and societies, both local and further afi eld that may be affected by consumption choices. Love, in the advertising of ethical brands, is prima-rily presented as doing the right thing for your family, in line with Miller ’ s interpre-tation of love in the consumption context. Ecover, ecological washing-up liquid, for example, shows a man washing up with his young child and the simple message ‘ We made ours an Ecover home ’ . Simi-larly, all their products carry the line ‘ for people who care ’ , implying a concern not

Figure 1 Trade Advertisement for Divine Chocolate (reproduced with permission of The Day Chocolate Company)

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only for the environment but for using environmental friendly products in the family setting ( Figure 2 ).

Other ethical companies have taken the underlying theme of love further; the wine company ’ s brand name Thandi is actually the Xhosa word for ‘ nurturing love ’ , again implying an appreciation by the producer of the importance of this facet to understanding consumers ’ moti-vations in purchasing. Thandi makes it clear that their aim is to empower com-munities and that, in turn, these commu-nities ’ ‘ love and passion ’ is encapsulated in the quality of the wine they produce ( www.thandi.com/home ).

AESTHETICS There is a strong historical tradition for producing things that are aesthetically pleasing, useful and nonexploitative. The Arts and Crafts movement began in Eng-land in the 1860s as a reform movement with John Ruskin as its philosophical leader. It made a direct connection between art, nature and morality with William Morris combining aesthetics and social reform into the production of goods. Morris had observed the dreadful working conditions in factories and believed that if the quality of design could be improved, this would have a positive effect on the character of the person pro-ducing the goods that, in turn, would improve society. His famous statement ‘ Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful ’ 49 encapsulates the belief that, in today ’ s language, ethical consumption can and should be aesthetically pleasing.

There are parallels that can be drawn between the Arts and Crafts movement and the perceptions and realities of ethical brands. In comparison with mass market goods, ethically produced ones are likely

to be more expensive. Moreover, there has also been a perception that a green life-style is associated with more rugged arte-facts, such as ‘ macram é and coir matting ’ , which one commentator described as representing the stereotypical vision of

Figure 2 Advertisement for Ecover Washing-up Liquid (reproduced with permission of Ecover)

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ethical household goods. 50 Today, however, the arguments for an aesthetic dimension to ethical consumption are more compel-ling. Such a position is fundamentally informed by Featherstone ’ s 51 assertion that everyday life has become aestheticised. The boundaries between art and life and the distinction between high art and mass popular culture are in the process of removal, which has ultimately led to a cul-tural de-classifi cation, an ‘ assumption that art can be anywhere or anything ’ . 51 One might argue that this process refers to all aspects of every day life and consumption rather than a particular emphasis on ethical goods. Featherstone, however, identifi es three particular senses of the aestheticisa-tion process, one of which is especially relevant to the historical tradition of aes-theticisation and social reform discussed earlier. This is the project of turning life into a work of art. The desire for a life for all that was useful and beautiful in content and purpose, espoused by Ruskin and Morris, is encapsulated in Featherstone ’ s assertion that a life of aesthetic consump-tion and the need to form life into an aesthetically pleasing whole is part of the desire to construct distinctive lifestyles so often encapsulated into the messages of mainstream brands.

Recent work in consumer research has also critiqued the Kantian elimination of all noncognitive responses from an aes-thetic experience, 52 suggesting that aes-thetic experience can be embodied. Similarly, the consumption of ethical goods can embody a particular aesthetic experi-ence that is built, not only upon the knowl-edge of consuming something different from other mass produced goods, but also on the understanding that the goods have been produced in the context of fair trade or an environmentally appropriate form.

We suggest that the aesthetic dimension is prevalent throughout the advertising for

ethical brands. The producers have, per-haps unconsciously, taken up Morris ’ s maxim, understanding that the goods and the advertising for those goods need to be part of a consumer culture where the aestheticisation of the everyday is the norm. What is important for these brands is that they can retain their authenticity while engendering an aesthetic response from their customers. From the simple bold colours of Green and Black or the often mysterious landscapes of Caf é direct, the aesthetic dimension is integrated into the visual rhetoric 53 of the advertising.

An important issue for ethical brands will be how they develop their visual and aesthetic representations alongside main stream brands. Caf é direct is a good exam-ple of a brand that has developed in this way. The history of Caf é direct communi-cations shows a movement from early examples of very explicit messages regard-ing the benefi ts to producers and consum-ers and photographic images of the tea and coffee farmers, to later advertising, which, while still connecting to production, has a much stronger aesthetic development and is more confi dent in terms of its expecta-tions of the consumers ’ understanding of the visual rhetoric used.

The three chosen Caf é direct advertise-ments show this development clearly. In the fi rst, two children are shown with strong red lettering printed over their images saying, ‘ You discover excellent cof-fee, they discover school ’ . Potential con-sumers are shown unequivocally the instrumental outcome of their purchasing of the brand, directly helping the com-munity from which it derives. In the second, a couple is shown under the headline ‘ Coffee for Sale ’ and below this the line ‘ Coffee direct from Mr and Mrs Gomez, Casa Gomez, San Juan del Oro, Peru ’ . This almost suggests that the consumer can purchase their coffee

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directly from this small-scale producer, thus emphasising the connection between production and consumption so often lost in much lifestyle-oriented communica-tions for coffee brands. Finally, an example of one of Caf é direct ’ s more recent ads shows a landscape of ploughed earth with a golden brown naked body hunched in the centre. The colours and composition of this ad, while still connecting to the nature of coffee production, are framed within a much more aesthetic mode of composition. As Wright 12 points out in her critique of this ad, the naked body makes no sense contextually if one were to read it as a direct representation of cof-

fee farming, but the body can also be seen in a different representational context as a giant coffee bean. So here, Caf é direct has moved from the original fundamen-tally functional approach of their earlier ads to an aesthetic visualisation that not only expects consumers to be able to read the visual rhetoric, but also largely expects that the functional values have become integrated into the consumer ’ s knowledge of the essential value of the Caf é direct brand. In developing the brand in this way, Caf é direct are following a historical prec-edent of leveraging their offering in sub-tle ways to refl ect consumer preferences and understanding of what the brand has

Figure 3 Advertisements for Caf é direct Coffee (reproduced with permission of Caf é direct)

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to offer while not losing their original authenticity ( Figure 3 – 5 ).

CONCLUSION Ethical companies face diffi cult choices in how to develop their products and brands. This is largely because of the everyday reality of competing in the mass market. As the Day Chocolate Company found, joint branding with supermarkets may be necessary when shelf space in independent retailers is hard to gain. 13 Some warn of the dangers of engagement with mainstream business, 11 reminding us that the fair trade message at least was as much about being involved in transformative action as it was

about consumption. Low and Davenport 11 fear that when fair trade becomes appropri-ated in the marketplace then consumers become confused and it is the ethical pro-ducers who will ultimately lose out.

Prothero and Fitchett 54 present a dif-ferent perspective, when they bewail the historical presentation of the relationship between capitalism and the environment as always one of ‘ irreconcilable opposi-tion ’ , arguing that consumption does not need to depend only on negative notions but can be seen in a more positive eco-logical light. The same can be said for the concept of ethical brands; if we can accept that ‘ ethics ’ and ‘ consumption ’ can lie together we are better placed to fi rst

Figure 4 Advertisements for Caf é direct Coffee (reproduced with permission of Caf é direct)

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understand the nature and motivations of those who do consume ethically, and then communicate with them in an appropri-ate fashion. Already we can see, through examining the espoused values of ethical brands, an understanding of some of the issues of concern to consumers above and beyond the basic benchmark of buying an ethical good can be gained. As mentioned earlier in relation to Caf é direct, most advertisers of fairly traded goods make a point of distinguishing their products in terms of superior taste. Green and Blacks Chocolate Company, for example, state on their website ‘ fairly traded products have to be as yummy-or yummier than what else is out there or shoppers won ’ t buy something more than once and the lives of third world farmers and growers won ’ t

be transformed ’ (greenandblacks.com). Ethical brands have to work on many lev-els, and while they must ensure consum-ers understand their fundamental values, their distribution through mainstream suppliers requires them to integrate into a broader spectrum of communication methods and approaches. They have to be confi dent in competing head on with household names that have had longer investment and will continue to have higher advertising budgets. The producers have, however, joined a tradition begun by Ruskin and Morris over one hundred years ago, and more recently extolled by Featherstone, that their brands and the advertising for those brands need to be part of a consumer culture where the aes-theticisation of the everyday is the norm.

Figure 5 Advertisements for Caf é direct Coffee (reproduced with permission of Caf é direct)

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We recognise that our analysis of ethi-cal brands as integrating into mainstream consumer values may not sit comfortably with many involved in the fair trade movement and, in Wright ’ s words, our interpretations may read as ‘ minority world consumers [who] can “ redeem ” majority world producers by perpetuating consumer lifestyles prioritising self-grati-fi cation ’ . 12 While we understand this point of view, we also correspond with her observation that ‘ legitimising con-sumer pleasure ’ may be the price to pay for fairly traded goods reaching the main-stream. Understanding and exploring the dimensions of consumer pleasure are a necessary prerequisite to furthering the development and acceptance of ethical consumption. We know that brands just as other artefacts have meaning and act as communicating mechanisms but that these can change over time. It is through the social history of objects 55 that we learn more about the reciprocal arrange-ment between the brand and the con-sumer, thus observing how ethical brands are evolving within this trajectory is an important and useful area for research and practice. Most importantly, ethical brands need to be wary of going down the niche route while mainstream brands encroach their territory, and, as Golding and Peat-tie 56 remark in relation to fair trade brands, what is needed is an expansion of market share while still consolidating the social mes-sage; a deeper understanding of the values that drive choice and that can build the brand appropriately should be welcomed.

References ( 1 ) Co-Op American . ( 2005 ) : http://www.coop-

america.org/programs/fairtrade/whattoknow/index.cfm [9th October, 2005] .

( 2 ) Cowe , R . and Williams , S . ( 2000 ) ‘ Who are the Ethical Consumers? ’ , Cooperative Bank/MORI, Manchester .

( 3 ) Mintel . ( 2004 ) ‘ Green and Ethical Consumer Survey ’ , Mintel, London .

( 4 ) Fairtrade Foundation . ( 2005 ) : http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/about_sales.htm [9th October, 2005] .

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