From boycotts of plastics and palm oil by consumers, to the tracking of carbon footprints and modern slavery in their supply chains by businesses, buying ethically has now fully captured the public interest. The Handbook of Ethical Purchasing is designed to help both ordinary people and industry professionals to understand this new movement, its political background and, most importantly, how to become involved more effectively

By looking in turn at sustainable supply chain management by companies, green public procurement by governments, and the ethical choices made by consumers, this book operates as a practical handbook for people across all industries and sectors to become involved in the important changes that need to be made. It provides the key principles, language, and techniques that companies, campaigners, certification schemes, and regulators are beginning to use to address the moral, practical, and political problems that commonly occur in this transition to more ethical economies.

Written by a leading authority on ethical consumption, Rob Harrison, the book provides the reader with the tools to operate with confidence and effectiveness in an easy-to-access format. It also provides a useful structure to understand this new subject area for students of marketing, supply chain management, and business studies generally.

Rob Harrison is one of three founder members of the Ethical Consumer Research Association in the UK. He has been an editor and writer at Ethical Consumer Magazine since that time and has spoken widely in the press, on radio, and on TV, as well as to universities and campaign groups around the world, on the importance of facilitating ethical consumption in a globalised marketplace. He has also acted as a consultant to NGOs, businesses, governments, and consumers association around the world on how to make markets work for social change.