There has been a recent boom in ‘Ethical’ products following on from
the success of ‘Fair Trade’ and ‘Organic’ but is this all marketing
hype designed to boost a company’s profits?
There is no doubt that the use of any of these labels opens up a
totally justified debate on whether they are sufficiently defined to
give the general public the assurances they need. Take ‘Fair Trade’
which has now established itself as a recognised standard but what
transparency does the consumer have on whether the price they pay have
any bearing on the fairness claims that are made and is the premium
that they are prepared to pay for such products, on prices set by the
end seller, have more to do with what the market will bear than on
making any real difference to the third world producer?
The selling of ethical travel insurance
and financial products falls into the same category. A simple claim
that a percentage of profits are channelled into good causes is all
well and good but the discerning customer should look beyond these
headline grabbing claims and ask serious questions. Take Travel Insurance
– there are literally hundreds of companies, many well known, that jump
onto the bandwagon simply to try and grab a share of this growing
market. This is tantamount to using strong arm tactics to drown out the
voices of those genuine companies and charities that are offering
ethical travel insurance
with a difference. Only by looking at the whole picture can you
appreciate what makes these new up and coming ethically driven
companies a much more attractive option for those who do care about
where they put their money. Whether it is directed at helping those in
need, say in the developing world or aimed at ecological issues, such
as climate change, how companies in the financial sector face up to the
growing demand for Corporate Social Responsibility will be the
benchmark requirement on which they will be judged in the future.
In financial services broadly, and travel insurance
in particular, travelandinsure.com with its ethically viable and
socially sustainable product, is among a core of companies who have
realised that this is central to how their business operates, and are
truly making a difference.
Keith McGregor is a partner of Strawberrysoup, a web design agency with offices in Chichester and Bournemouth. Strawberrysoup specialise in creative web design, content managed websites, search engine optimisation, search engine marketing and graphic design
