In this article, Jess Worth discusses the limitations of ethical

consumerism.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with her views? How far do
you think your society practises ethical consumerism?
Worth's argument that the efcacy of ethical consumerism peaks when there is
cooperation amongst business and political leaders is broadly applicable in
Singapore. However her sketchy explanations that frms are less inclined to
omit environmentally damaging products and that frms are motivated to be
environmentally friendly to survive in a climate that is not probusiness would
not hold water in the Singaporean context.
Worth makes a timely and valid point in describing the e!ectiveness of ethical
consumerism when there is a collaborative and well thought out process. "n
alteration of consumers' behavior and mentalities is re#uired for the success of
this policy. $egislative measures % tari!s& boycotts or bans of harmful products %
deter any purchases that may compromise the environment and on the other
end businesses and activist groups have campaigns that change the
mentalities of these consumers. 'n Singapore& this is exemplifed by the
(ational )nvironmental "gency *()"+& a ministry in Singapore& working in
tandem with hypermarkets like (,-. to roll out schemes such as the /reen
0eward Schemes. ,his incentivi1es shoppers to bring along their own paper
and reusable bags and make them refrain from using plastic bags2 this earns
them a 34 cent rebate each shopping trip. "ctivist groups such as Singapore
)nvironmental .ouncil have also made fervent attempts to educate the public
of the benefts in using recyclable bags through campaigns such as 56ring your
own bag day7. ,he collaborative e!ort was executed adroitly % (,-. has given
out 844&444 dollars worth of rebates or saved 9: million bags in the process.
,here is a prevalence of many such initiatives in Singapore and this re#uires
governmental outfts to be closely tethered to businesses and (/;s to
continue the trend of success.
Worth asserts that corporations are motivated to be environmentally friendly so
that they can preempt and elude the legislation that would harm their profts.
,he claim while applicable to certain countries would be inapplicable to
Singapore on two fronts. ,he -nited <ingdom's conservative party campaigned
assiduously for and subse#uently rolled out taxations on environmentally
unfriendly products % Sports utility vehicles& which emit the most carbon
dioxide hence contribute immensely to global warming& were slapped with
hefty tari!s. However& green policies have not gained momentous traction in
Singapore. While there are concerted e!orts to be conserve the environment&
the importance of having an attractive probusiness climate still precedes that
concern. 'n the 5)ase of =oing 6usiness7 index by the World 6ank& Singapore
has retained the top spot since >448. ,hus Singapore is still upholding its
ethos of being a prime destination for businesses to set up shop2 tightening
regulations and hefty tari!s would con?ict with that vision. Secondly&
Singapore's economy is not powered by manufacturing industries. 'n
manufacturing hubs such as .hina& there is a perpetuating problem of air and
water #uality. @actories emit high level of smog and discharge toxic waste. )co
taxes& bans and a plethora of other legislative measures would be re#uired to
curb such practices. However& Singapore's maAor industries % fnancial services
*legal and accounting+& biomedicine and semi conductors % do not contribute
adversely to the environment. ,hus Worth's view may be true in certain
countries but such a scenario has not manifested in Singapore yet.
Worth is hapha1ard in assuming that companies do not omit environmentally
harmful products because it contravenes the proft making obAective. 'ronically&
omitting these products would cause a surge in profts for corporations that
operate on a smaller scale. ,hey di!erentiate their products from those on the
market with a distinction of being environmentally friendly. ,his targets a niche
market of conscientious consumers. 'n Singapore& we have brands such as
)trican and 6/; % local fashion labels that incorporate organic cotton into their
clothing. @urthermore& with the advent of technology such as web hosting
advertisements& these labels have a platform to showcase their fashion line. 'n
Singapore& /reenStore.sg is a website that shortlists ecofriendly companies
and displays the stores' products. Sales have soared through the roofs with the
proliferation of such companies and the promotion that they get from the
website. ,hus it is myopic for us to conclude that companies are disregarding
proft margins as a result of excluding harmful products.
,o conclude& if there is unity when tackling environmental degradation&
Singapore would be able to overcome such an ailing problem. However& the
current traAectory of Singapore suggest that the tightening of regulations and
laws for business practices would be unrealistic.