The need for ethical and sustainable products has been growing significantly in recent years, as natural human resources are being consumed at a rate of knots. Sustainability is defined as the study of how natural systems function, remain diverse and produce everything it needs for the ecology to remain in balance. The idea of living in harmony with the world around us is becoming a more prominent issue in society, whether that means we need to eat more sustainably and ethically, or shopping more consciously.
According to a survey commissioned by Proagrica, a global provider of data-driven support solutions for the agriculture and animal health industries, since the pandemic, 71% of the participants are purchasing local produce. While 57% are moving to less polluting food products and 46% are opting for ethically farmed animal products. Due to lockdowns and restrictions on how we were able to shop for food, the pandemic certainly caused a shift—even pushed—for people to source products more locally. Living in Wells, Somerset, amidst the pandemic the community pulled together and collated a list of all the small local businesses that were unable to operate as usual but had introduced delivery services for meals and food products. This simultaneously provided the solution to many who were forced to isolate for fear of COVID, but also opened the communities eyes to feeding themselves more sustainably.
As stated in the Nielson ‘sustainability imperative’, consumers are adopting more sustainable behaviours while also trying to be more responsible for citizens of the world. As a result, they are checking the origins, manufacturing process and paying attention to public opinion on specific brands on social media. Consumers have also increased their focus on reducing their meat consumption, using low carbon emission modes of transport, and browsing more ethical or environmentally friendly brands.
Oxford Brookes University shares this desire to operate sustainably, encompassing environmental, social and economic responsibilities. The University incorporates an ethical and green mantra with its dedication to environmental sustainability, providing sustainable travel and ethical food on campus, as well as their investment in high quality, sustainable buildings. Their initiatives have not escaped the students who are also eager to encourage eco-conscious consumption.
One example of this is Discover Ethos, founded by two Brookes students, Jaimie Mcintosh and Percy Moore. Discover Ethos is a lifestyle magazine and platform which champions the business trailblazers behind up and coming sustainable brands driving for the future. I spoke to Jaimie and Percy regarding their brand and the way that social media has encouraged the vocalisation and our awareness of environmental issues. Both students felt that social media channels have been saturated with news events that strongly focused upon negative news and events to inspire consumers to make changes. In effect, there is definitely a growing trend for non-mass market stores/ brands. Jaimie and Percy believe that there is a trend in the market for smaller brands which focus on sustainability, especially among the student consumer market. Students have taken to buying second hand over fast fashion, which means there is a need for accessibility and affordability. Interestingly, Percy highlighted the fact that ‘’people are becoming fed up with large fast fashion corporations and want to try and buy from independent stores which reflect their own personal change in values’’.
“People’s demands are changing, so these types of businesses should start to see growth.”
The inspiration for Discover Ethos was also inspired by the drastic nature of the pandemic. Shopping sustainably is difficult, therefore there was a need for a platform which brings all these amazing sustainable brands together. However, Jaimie also described her own personal reasons behind the brand. During the height of the pandemic, she began to really focus on herself and her fashion and lifestyle etc, which resulted in a change in wardrobe, skin care and room etc. This type of change would not have been beneficial to the environment, and she was unable to find a place where she could support a multitude of local businesses which were sustainably conscious. As a result, Discover Ethos was born. Another incentive derived from the fact that she loves to consume her content and a platform which hosts multiple brands, acting as an ethical community, really seemed like a positive addition.
Unfortunately, sustainability can often be seen to be a privilege for many who already have their basic needs accounted for. The common stereotype for living and shopping sustainably is often the high expense for products that may take longer to produce or source due to locality and quality of produce. In 2015, according to Nielson, 66% of their global respondents said that they were willing to spend more on sustainable goods, a significant increase from previous years, but how accessible is this for students?
As students in Oxford, both Jaimie and Percy had their own perspective upon whether shopping with the environment in mind was affordable or exclusive. Their response concluded that sustainable produce was expensive, so you had to know where to responsible source this from. However, if sustainability continued to trend, there was the potential of affordability. Whole food shops such as Wild Honey were a good place to start, as Percy stated that you do not have to jump into sustainability headfirst but start with a few things that you change.
“Once you get started, it’s really rewarding finding all sorts of amazing brands which are driving for change.”
As more younger generations begin to adopt sustainability, let’s hope that the small changes will help drive this genre of store to develop and become integrated, in order to make ethical and sustainable shopping less of a privilege.