Value for the ethical consumer

This chapter aims to provide a conceptual link between customer value and the field of ethical consumption, particularly how it has developed around the trade-offs enacted in ethical consumer choice that are often claimed to exist. In doing so it firstly explores key perspectives on ethical consumption, including evidence of its contradictions and complexities. It then examines the role of value in understanding trade-offs, addressing: the notion and nature of trade-offs; the associated role of customer values; perspectives on morality as a customer value; and identity and value in practices. The work of American pragmatist, John Dewey, is then employed to put forward a proposition for how the evaluation of ethical consumption choices may occur in practice. The chapter concludes by making the case for re-imagining value in ethical consumption as ‘aggregate perceived personal advantage’ and makes recommendations for future/further research and practice.