Consumers in five of the world's leading economies believe business ethics have worsened in the past five years and are turning to "ethical consumerism" to make companies more accountable, according to research seen exclusively by the Financial Times.
A five-country study by GfK NOP, the market research group, found widespread pessimism about corporate practices, with 64 per cent of respondents in Germany and 55 per cent in the US perceiving the worst deterioration in standards.
Almost half of the 5,000 consumers, also surveyed in the UK, France and Spain, judged that ethical behaviour from corporations had worsened.
In contrast, 43 per cent of respondents across all five countries judged that brands with "ethical" claims - on environmental policies or treatment of staff and suppliers, for instance - would make business more answerable to the public.
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