Most people want to buy ethical, safe, responsibly made products, but when they’re at the checkout in store or online, they almost always grab the cheapest option. Amazon. Dollarama. Big brand names. Whatever costs less. Good intentions disappear fast when money’s tight.
So in today’s economy, how can ethical, and often more expensive, products ever win?
New research from Toronto Metropolitan University suggests a surprisingly simple idea: instead of charging more, ethical products could be sold in slightly smaller quantities so the price feels comparable. Same values, same price point — less sticker shock.
With rising costs for everyday items like coffee and chocolate, this research helps explain why ethical shopping is so hard, and what might actually make it easier for real people.
Mehak Bharti, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Ted Rogers School of Management, Toronto Metropolitan University, said: “At its core, this research is about a puzzle that we all recognize. People say that they care about sustainability, sustainable values, ethical production, but when they’re shopping, they often don’t choose those ethical options.
“In fact, extensive prior research has shown that about 40% of people want to consume sustainably—they want to help others—but only about 4% end up doing so. So our research asks a very simple question: what is the problem?
“It’s not that people don’t care, because clearly they do. But is it possible that we are asking them to pay the ethical cost in the wrong way? That is precisely our research question.”
Bharti said the key finding is that ethical products are usually much more expensive than their regular, non-ethical counterparts. People are not really willing to pay more, especially in today’s environment where inflation rates are so high.
“What companies can do is keep the price the same as the regular alternative, but reduce the quantity instead—a visible reduction in quantity. What we found is that people are more interested to sacrifice quantity than price, because paying more money hurts more psychologically than getting a bit less quantity,” she noted.
“When the shelf price is the same, people no longer feel punished for doing the right thing, and this allows ethical intentions to actually show up in their behaviour.”
In this research, Bharti said, six experiments were conducted with around 2,500 participants from Canada, the United States, and the Netherlands. A mix of lab studies, field studies, and online experiments were used. That included everyday consumers who shop at supermarkets, as well as students, as part of the participant pool.
“People are really struggling these days, and money is a big concern. Unemployment rates are high, inflation rates are high. Even though people care about the environment, they care about others, and they really want to support consumer sustainably, they can’t because it’s not easy to spend extra on something that doesn’t benefit you directly,” added Bharti.
When they consume sustainable products, the benefit doesn’t go directly to the buyer. It goes toward fair wages, animal welfare, and so on.
“Our research is basically saying that most consumers are not unethical—they’re just human. They’re struggling with money, struggling to save extra. When ethical choices are framed as financial sacrifices, people hesitate. They are just not willing to pay extra because that pain of payment is too tangible,” she said, adding that the research shows that changing how that sacrifice is framed can make a big difference. People are willing to pay the same price but accept less quantity.
Sometimes people assume this is similar to inflation-driven shrinkflation, where companies reduce quantity without consumers realizing it. That distinction is crucial.
“Our effect is not similar shrinkflation. Shrinkflation hides quantity reductions. In our studies, the smaller quantity is transparent and clearly visible. It’s kept side by side with regular alternatives. Participants know the price per unit, they also know the quantity is less than regular alternative. Consumers know exactly what they’re choosing, and that transparency is what makes the strategy feel fair rather than deceptive.”
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