Ethical Consumer Behavior Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Ethical Consumer Behavior - Assignment Example Consumer behavior is one of the most important subjects that are studied in the marketing and management fields. This concept is defined as the study of the groups, individuals and organizations regarding the methods and process that they utilize for the selection, securing and disposing of the services, products, ideas, or experiences. This subject mainly refers to a detailed assessment of the satisfaction of consumer needs and the influence that the applied processes have on the society and consumers. The concept of consumer behavior combines various elements from the sociology, psychology, economics and social anthropology. It strives upon understanding the entire process of the decision -making of buyers, both individually and in groups (Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, 2006). It studies characteristics of individual consumers such as demographics and behavioral variables in an attempt to understand peoples wants. It also tries to assess influences on the consumer from groups such as family, friends, reference groups, and society in general. The concept of ethical consumerism has gained a lot of significance in the shopping segments of United Kingdoms and the United States. Ethical consumerism is defined as the concept in which the consumer depicts such activism which is practiced through the concept of positive buying and favoring of ethical products. According to this concept, the consumers are empowered to make ethical decisions, the consumption choices that are ethically informed and are provided with reliable and authentic information on corporate behavior. In order to assist the consumers with ethical buying behaviors, various standards and tables have been developed by the organizations. These include Fair-trade, Organic Foods, Made in the USA and various other standards which formulate a certain benchmark to be followed (Bird, Kate, and David, 1997).