Ethical Consumer

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Ethical Consumer
Frequency Bi-monthly
First issue 1989 (1989)
Company Ethical Consumer Research Association
Country UK
Based in Manchester, England
Language English
Website www.ethicalconsumer.org
ISSN 0955-8608

Ethical Consumer is a not-for-profit UK magazine and website which publishes information on the social, ethical and environmental behaviour of companies and issues around trade justice and ethical consumerism. It was founded in 1989 by Rob Harrison and Jane Turner.[1][2]

Mission

The mission of Ethical Consumer is to "promote universal human rights, environmental sustainability, and animal welfare" by informing consumers and campaigners.[citation needed]

History

Ethical Consumer magazine and its associated websites are produced by the Ethical Consumer Research Association (ECRA). Between 1989 and 2009 ECRA was a worker's co-operative, based in Manchester, UK. In 2009 ECRA became a not-for-profit multi-stakeholder co-operative[3] consisting of worker members and investor/ subscriber members.

Company ratings

Ethical Consumer publishes a company ratings tables which rate various products across 19 criteria.[4] The data behind the ratings tables is produced by research into the social, ethical and environmental records of companies, using media reporting, NGO reports, corporate communications and primary research.

Other activities

The Corporate Critic website provides access to ECRA's database, tracking over 30,000 companies, providing information such as rating, ownership structure and turnover.

ECRA also undertakes consultancy and research[5] on behalf of NGOs and corporate clients as well as providing a screening service.[6] Clients have included: Amnesty International, CafeDirect, Christian Aid, Comic Relief, The Co-operative Bank, British Red Cross, Consumer Focus, Ecology Building Society, International Consumer Research and Testing, Friends of the Earth, Glasgow Caledonian University, Lush cosmetics Médecins Sans Frontière Belgium, Natural History Museum, Oxfam, The Guardian, the Soil Association, Vegetarian Society, Water Aid, Women's Institute, WWF.

ECRA conducts regular research on behalf of the Co-operative Group for the annual Ethical Consumerism Report.[citation needed]

Ethical Consumer also play a large role in the campaign to boycott Amazon for their consistent evasion of UK corporation tax.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Shanta Barley (14 September 2010). "Vote for your unsung green hero". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2011-12-15. 
  2. ↑ Tim Hunt (June 2010). "Workers of the world, co-operate!". RedPepper.org. Retrieved 2011-12-15. 
  3. ↑ "Co-op Structure". EthicalConsumer.org. Retrieved 2011-12-15. 
  4. ↑ "Quick Guide to using Ethical Consumer". EthicalConsumer.org. Retrieved 2011-12-15. 
  5. ↑ "Consultancy & Research". EthicalConsumer.org. Retrieved 2011-12-15. 
  6. ↑ "Company Screenings". EthicalConsumer.org. Retrieved 2011-12-15. 
  7. ↑ "Boycott Amazon". Retrieved 2014-01-02. 

External links

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