Challenging corporate power

It is now 36 years since we set off on our mission to "help consumers shop ethically and to challenge corporate power".

And the success of the vision to normalise the discussion of ethics in consumer products everywhere has surpassed all our expectations.

Challenging corporate power

However, if you view the new US president as largely a mouthpiece for giant oil and tech multinationals, the idea that, in early 2025, corporate power is being successfully challenged by us or indeed anyone else right now seems laughable.

To make matters worse, this latest wave of anti-ethical political behaviour is occurring at a time when people and the planet are crying out for fundamental change of a different nature.

In addition, as we have learnt through our Climate Gap work and at our sold-out de-growth conference in London in 2024, there is growing support for moving away from the capitalism promoted by corporations, with its requirement for perpetual economic growth, that is causing rather than fixing many of the core problems we face.

When we were founded we identified corporate power and the pursuit of profit as lying at the heart of many of these problems. We noted that many corporations had grown to become more powerful than the governments that were meant to be regulating them. We also noted that our democracies were failing because they had been "captured" by corporations pursuing their own economic self-interest.

In the same breath, we were always careful to point out that "consumer action is not a replacement for other forms of political action but is an important additional way for people to exert influence."

However, the political situation right now feels alarming and in rapid flux.

Researching and talking about corporations is our specialist subject, so we are returning to our roots to look at other ways of challenging corporate power. 

Ditching for-profit companies

Our challenging corporate power series will contain news items, features, and interviews to help us think outside the box and imagine a different economy. 

We will explore the possibility of reinventing the corporation, and the idea that the for-profit corporation, like oil and coal, needs to be consigned to history as no longer useful for the times we are in.

When we were founded in 1989, we put the word 'ethical' next to the word 'consumer' to be provocative and to make people think. Discussing the ethics of companies and brands is now pretty mainstream.

Perhaps soon, we will find that discussing the end of the for-profit corporation has somehow become part of mainstream discourse too? 

News of challenges to corporate power

It is heartening to see challenges to corporate power taking place across the UK and the world. These may be grassroots and community resistance or structured campaigns with wide geographical support.

We report on some recent examples.

Auletta Casa Mia is one of 58 projects on the shortlist for the 2025 Lush Spring Prize, a more than £200,000 prize fund that seeks to build capacity for those regenerating the earth’s damaged systems. The award recipients will be announced in May 2025. 

Lush Spring Prize is a joint venture between Lush Cosmetics and Ethical Consumer.

What do you think about corporate power?

Our challenging corporate power series is designed to generate discussion.

We welcome any reflections and ideas you may want to share. Contact us via our contact form (select 'general enquiries), or email us on letters [at] ethicalconsumer.org.