ethical & environmental issues

• ethical behaviour

  fair and honest acts
• benefits of ethical behaviour

  customers are prepared to pay more for ethical products so the higher sales compensate for higher costs, improved reputation leading to customer loyalty, positive publicity, motivated staff that feel proud for working there, easier recruitment of talented people that want to work there, avoids legal issues
• costs of ethical behaviour

  increased costs for ethical products and a good wage, higher product prices may put off buyers, lower profit margins, pressure from shareholders to prioritise short-term profit, limited choice of ethical suppliers who may not offer the best prices or flexibility
• benefits of fairtrade activity for businesses

  makes products more attractive to customers, improves reputation, customer loyalty, competitive advantage, positive media attention, higher prices
• costs of fairtrade activity for businesses

  higher costs, higher selling prices might put off customers, limited fairtrade suppliers, certification costs, not always a USP in competitive markets
• benefits of fairtrade activity for farmers/workers

  paid fairly with a guaranteed minimum price, improved working conditions, stable income, improved quality of life, long-term prospects for children should improve
• costs of fairtrade activity for farmers/workers

  joining fees may be unaffordable, strict standards exclude small or poorer farmers
• ways a business can operate ethically and environmentally

  renewable energy, reduce energy consumption, reduce transport, recycling
• benefits of recycling

  saves money if they're used to make new products, improves brand image, reduced costs because less landfill is required, less energy taken to recycle than to manufacture new materials, USP, competitive advantage, awards can be gained
• costs of recycling

  recycled product may have lower quality, image of product may be seen as inferior, some items (paper) can only be recycled a limited number of times, recycled material must be sorted and processed which takes a long time
• purpose of packaging

  protects + transports + preserves products, attracts customers
• benefits of reducing packaging

  lower production costs as less material are required for packaging, lower transport costs as goods are lighter and smaller, landfill costs reduced, improves brand image
• costs of reducing packaging

  increased risk of damage due to less packaging, may become less attractive to customers