[3rd "Ethical Consumption Study Group"] Consumers engage in ethical consumption based on whether it benefits "themselves or others" in the "present or future"

2022.06.23 Press Releases
CCC Marketing Co., Ltd.

-June is "Environment Month."When we think of ethical consumption, we imagine things like "environment," "SDGs," "local production for local consumption," and "fair trade."

CCC Marketing Co., Ltd. (Head office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Makoto Tashiro) is conducting research and development from various perspectives on ethical consumption by consumers, mainly in the area of food, and announcing the results of its research. Ethical Consumption Research GroupThe third event was held online on May 31, 2022, with the participation of distributors, manufacturers, and experts. From the consumer interviews on ethical consumption, we were able to see what motivates consumers to engage in ethical consumption and signs of their awareness of ethical consumption.

■Summary of the 3rd "Ethical Consumption Study Group"

■Participants of the 3rd "Ethical Consumption Study Group" *In alphabetical order
・Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
・Kodawariya Co., Ltd.
・House Foods Group Inc., House Foods Corporation
・FamilyMart Co., Ltd.
・Meiji Holdings Co., Ltd.
・Mariko Kawaguchi (Rikkyo University, Fuji Oil Holdings Co., Ltd.)
・Hiroko Sasaki (Chefs for the Blue General Incorporated Association)
Yugo Nakamura (Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Information Science and Electrical Engineering, Kyushu University)
・Kenji Yamamoto (Good Tables Co., Ltd.) and 1 other company

■Consumer interviews about ethical food
June 5th is the United Nations' Environment Day. In Japan, the Environment Agency has designated the month of June as "Environment Month" and is carrying out various initiatives. The third Ethical Consumption Study Group, held ahead of Environmental Month, conducted consumer interviews on ethical food and presented the results of a qualitative understanding of how consumers feel about ethical food and its value structure. The consumer interviews were conducted online as individual 60-minute interviews with people who sometimes buy food with ethical considerations in mind.

■ What comes to mind when thinking about ethical consumption are "SDGs," "environment," "local production for local consumption," "fair trade," etc.
The "2022 Ethical Survey," released in March 2022, showed that awareness of the SDGs had increased significantly from 52.2% last year to 82.8%, while awareness of "ethical" also increased by 11.1 points from last year to 32.9%, indicating that awareness of "ethical" is gradually beginning to spread. In this context, the consumer interviews we conducted this time also revealed the image of "ethical consumption" and the behavior and thoughts of consumers regarding "ethical consumption."First, the actions and ideas that consumers mentioned to understand "ethical consumption" included "local production for local consumption," "fair trade," "food waste (avoidance)," and "support/supportive consumption."Additionally, concepts that came up as images of "ethical consumption" included "environment," "SDGs," "nature," and "organic."Although the concept of "ethical" is broad and vaguely defined, it is thought that in the future, in order to popularize "ethical consumption," it will be necessary to work to spread a unified concept that consumers can easily imagine.

■What is the value of "ethical consumption" to consumers? Two things: "benefits to myself" and "benefits to other companies"
Consumer interviews revealed that there are two benefits to consumers from buying ethical food:

1. Benefits directed to oneself (selfish benefits)
2. Benefits directed to others (altruistic benefits)

In this case, "others" are broadly defined to include people, organizations (especially those in socially vulnerable positions), regions, or the entire planet. For example, when it comes to packaging, if a product is made of easily degradable material or is not overly packaged, the "benefits to oneself (selfish benefits)" include not having to go through the hassle of sorting waste, making it easier to take out the trash, and making life more comfortable. On the other hand, "benefits directed to others (altruistic benefits)" include benefits such as reducing waste and eliminating harmful gas emissions, which are good for the environment. It is not just one aspect that is perceived; it is only when both aspects are present that the consumer benefits of ethical food are realized. Furthermore, by satisfying the "benefits directed to others (altruistic benefits)," people were able to transform these into emotional benefits such as the "joy of contributing to society" and "the satisfaction of being able to help someone in some small way" and into "benefits directed to oneself (selfish benefits)."

■ Consumers are aware of two benefits of "ethical consumption" from two perspectives: "present" and "future"
These benefits were recognized in the interviews along two timelines:

1. Current and short-term perspective
2. Future and long-term perspective

The "current/short-term perspective" is something that can be beneficial right now or that will lead to the resolution of current issues. For example, in addition to selfish benefits such as being tasty, cheap, and easy to dispose of, there are also altruistic benefits such as revitalizing the local economy. On the other hand, a "future/long-term perspective" refers to benefits that will arise in the future, but not benefits that can be enjoyed immediately. For example, in addition to selfish benefits such as future health and maintaining a comfortable environment for one's children, there are also altruistic benefits that do not have an immediate effect, such as addressing climate change.

Organizing these, we can see the consumer perspective divided into four quadrants as shown in the diagram below.

Consumers were not only conscious of one of these quadrants, but many were conscious of multiple areas, although there was a gradation of shades. The areas that people are most conscious of vary from person to person, and even within individuals, it is thought to differ depending on the product category.

■What is the trigger for purchasing ethical food? Changes in the environment in which people were born and raised or in their life stage
Furthermore, from the consumer interviews, the following structure was observed as the steps leading up to purchasing ethical food.

As part of the process of change in consumer awareness and behavior, changes in eating habits in the environment in which they were born and raised, the way their caregivers think, school education, and life stage change, which can lead to changes in their living environment and values, such as the gap that arises when moving from rural areas to cities, living alone, or living with a family. From there, two patterns were observed in the steps leading up to the trigger and establishment. One pattern is when people discover an ethical issue that becomes personal to them through an unexpected experience such as work, a natural disaster, or illness, and then they establish consumption behavior that contributes to that issue. Another pattern is when people find out that a product they are buying for selfish reasons actually contributes to ethical issues, that is, has altruistic value, and they feel that their own actions have been recognized and affirmed, and their consumption behavior becomes established.
In order to popularize ethical consumption in the future, possible measures include strengthening the foundation through an information strategy for the entire food chain, balancing consumer value, and communicating the "value of altruism."

■Comments from participants based on the research results of the 3rd "Ethical Consumption Study Group"

I had been paying attention to the topic of selfishness and altruism even before this study group. I feel that the basic premise is that consumer value = customer value. I was curious as to whether, when people decide to buy ethical products even if they are more expensive, it is motivated by altruistic values or, for some people, selfish values.

The phrase that struck me was "support consumption."As a retailer, it's difficult to get customers to empathize with us, so how can we tickle this point? At first, it's difficult to be fully ethical, so perhaps it would be better to be a little ethical and think about it once a week or once a month. Before we knew it, people would realize that petit ethics is useful, and they would say, "Wow, this store is doing it!", so I thought that creating a petit ethics boom and telling a story that would spark a movement was something that retailers could do.

<Experts>
From a neuroscience perspective, doing altruistic things increases your sense of satisfaction; in other words, when humans do good things, dopamine is released and they become happy. Another way to interpret this is that it is not an emotional thing, but rather a feeling of comfort for the person, which increases the person's satisfaction. Rather than thinking that selfishness and altruism are contradictory, I thought that one way of thinking about altruism might be to increase one's own self-satisfaction.

The Ethical Consumption Study Group will continue to quantitatively verify the findings obtained this time and conduct research to promote the spread of ethical consumption.

Materials related to this matter

[3rd "Ethical Consumption Study Group"] Consumers engage in ethical consumption based on whether it benefits "themselves or others" in the "present or future"

Inquiries regarding this matter
CCC Marketing Co., Ltd.
Public Relations Officer: Ando / TEL: 03-6800-4464