Is Ethical Consumerism Just a Niche?

Certainly the concept of ethical consumerism is getting more attention these days in response to recent and ongoing corporate scandals, environmental disasters, child labor violations, and dangerous work environments throughout the world. But the question remains - how relevant is ethical consumerism really. Very few rigourous studies have been carried out on this subject in North America and certainly not in Canada but a recent study in the UK suggests that direct spending by consumers on "ethical products" amounts to some CDN$18 billion a year. but still this is only amounts to 4 percent of the consumer spending and one would expect the amount to be much lower in Canada where ethical consumerism is not as advanced.

So it may be a niche for now but what about in the future? What will happen to consumer behaviour when more information is available to consumers about the social responsibility of the producer and the conditions under which a product was made. Already there is technology that would allow us to access instant ratings from our cell phones. Some organizations have also envisioned embedding radio frequency chips in the actual products themselves which will tell you more about the product, how it was produced (maybe an interview by the person who made it or a testimonial from a previous buyer) and this may offer some assurance to conusmers and give them important information to better inform their purchasing decisions. Brave new future? It's already here...