Is Consumer Choice Sustainable?
August 18, 2009 - Many consumers, particularly in the U.K., find the complicated issues surrounding food consumption too difficult to deal with at the grocery store, and desire businesses to act as a filter for their purchases.
ScotlandonSunday reports that the current amount of choice shoppers have in supermarkets is not only unsustainable, but can actually lead to a decline in purchases. By filtering products based on sustainability criteria, businesses may be able to increase loyalty and overall sales. Tom Macmillan, CEO of the Food Ethics Council, says that many consumers are even shocked to find that supermarkets are allowed to sell products that are not sustainable."They buy endangered fish, such as cod, because they don't know: they make the perfectly reasonable assumption that everything on the shelves must be okay-ed by the supermarket."
This trend creates opportunity for retailers to act as leaders in the area of food sustainability, essentially taking the guess work out of the consumer shopping experience. Critics argue that this will take away many of the product choices that consumers face and is bad for business. But food retailers such as Marks and Spencer have already proved that this type of leadership can enhance business value. M&S's "Plan A", a $300 million effort started in 2007, is already cost positive. Other sectors are doing the same thing, including the much-talked about eco-label and consortium that has been established by Wal-Mart for every non-food item they carry in their stores.
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