There are certain things that you can do to try and ensure that you are shopping ethically. Ethical shopping means trying to buy things that are made ethically by companies that act ethically, without harm to or exploitation of humans, animals or the environment.

How can I be an ethical consumer?

The ways in which you can act as an 'ethical consumer' can take on a number of often subtle forms.

• Choosing to buy ethical products, whether they fair trade, organic or cruelty free (known as positive buying).
• Avoiding products you disapprove of such as battery eggs or polluting cars (known as negative purchasing).
• Company-based purchasing involves targeting a business as a whole. For example, the Nestlé boycott targets all its brands and subsidiaries in a bid to force the company to change its marketing of baby milk formula in the Third World.
• Looking at all the companies and products together and evaluating which brands are the most ethical.

Will it make a difference?

The benefits of buying ethically can be far-reaching. It encourages innovative products and companies while discouraging others that ignore the social and environmental consequences of their actions.

It can also empower consumers, giving them a say in how the products they buy are made, and how the company that makes them conducts its business.