Ethical consumerism is the broad label for companies providing products that appeal to people’s best selves (for example, fair trade coffee or a purchase that includes a donation to a charitable cause). Now that the general idea of combining ethics and shopping has become a mainstream concept, there is a developing a backlash against the idea that consumers might effect change through their purchasing habits. This pessimistic stance stems primarily from the lower sales of ethical brands. “If consumers cared about moral issues,” the argument goes, “then companies and brands that did the right thing would have a larger market share. It is clear people must not care about these issues and so ethical consumerism is going to fail. We cannot shop our way to a better world.”