What role does ethical/ green attributes play in my purchasing decisions
Typically in my purchasing decisions for my business, I tend to stick to what I know works for my cake recipes.
Therefore I would say as much as I have concern for the environment and ethical considerations when it comes to my purchases, I am more focused on tried and tested products that I know work well and keep my cakes at a standard of quality that I'm happy with and that my customers expect from me.
An example of a specific cognitive decision is when it came to choosing which Vanilla extract to use for my cakes. I chose to go with an organic and fair-trade brand, that was not only ethically sourced but also had a superior flavour when compared to the supermarket's own-brand extract, which is neither organic or fair-trade, but is cheaper.
TI would class this as a cognitive decision as I am aware that my customers want great tasting cakes, and because I cater for vegan customers too I want to try and keep the quality and flavours consistent across dietary requirements.
Despite the extract being more expensive, in the long run it makes more sense as not only is the flavour more potent and less can be used and still achieve a high level of flavour, there fore meaning less package waste and by extension less impact on the environment.