There are many things that consumers do not have to buy, and plenty they can buy more cheaply. As the Financial Times has reported, US families earning more than $100,000 a year are using more discount coupons.
有许多东西都不是消费者非买不可的，还有许多东西他们能以更低的价格购买。英国《金融时报》曾经报道，美国年收入在10万美元以上的家庭开始更多地使用优惠券了。

Yet there is little sign of committed consumers abandoning Fairtrade products. A recent report by Mintel, the research organisation, says: “Although a third of shoppers have cut down on the number of premium foods they buy, only one in 10 has cut back on ethical produce.” Justin King, chief executive of J Sainsbury, the UK retailer, said in February that its Fairtrade sales were holding up well.
不过，几乎没有迹象表明忠诚的消费者会放弃公平贸易产品。研究机构敏特(Mintel)最近发布的一份报告表示：“尽管三分之一的消费者减少了优质食品的购买量，但只有十分之一的人减少了良知产品(ethical produce)的购买量。”英国零售商森宝利(J Sainsbury)的首席执行官贾斯廷·金(Justin King)在2月份表示，该公司公平贸易产品的销售保持良好。

However, consumer attitudes are complex. Mike Barry, head of corporate social responsibility at rival retailer Marks and Spencer, says consumers are happy to continue to buy what they see as ethically sourced goods – provided they do not have to pay more. M & S's research says the number of “green crusaders” – those who buy ethical goods, no matter what, is about 9 per cent of the total, slightly down from the proportion at the start of the recession.
不过，消费者的态度是复杂的。森宝利的竞争对手——零售商玛莎百货(Marks and Spencer)企业社会责任部的主管迈克·巴里(Mike Barry)表示，消费者将很乐意继续购买他们认为采购渠道符合道德良知的商品——前提是他们无需支付更高的价格。玛莎百货的研究显示，“绿色支持者” ——即无论如何都会购买良知商品的人——在整个消费群体中约占9%，比衰退初期的比例略有下降。

About a fifth of consumers are uninterested in such issues and about a third cannot see what difference their purchasing makes. But the biggest group, about 40 per cent, are those who are prepared to buy ethical goods if companies make it easy, which generally means not making it expensive.
约有五分之一的消费者对这类问题不感兴趣，约有三分之一的人看不出他们的购买行为能起到什么作用。但人数最多的一组消费者（大约40%）表示，如果企业使这些商品的购买变得容易——通常是指不要让它们变得昂贵——他们就准备购买良知商品。

As Fairtrade involves paying producers more, how can retailers keep the prices competitive? Mr Barry says that when, in 2007, M & S laid out its “Plan A” on sustainable sourcing and fair trading, it expected the changes to cost the company £200m ($290m, €225m) over five years. But because, like Wal-Mart, M & S is saving money through its initiatives, it is finding its changes are cost-neutral.
由于公平贸易意味着要向生产者支付更高的价格，零售商如何能够保持价格的竞争力？巴里表示，当2007年玛莎制定关于可持续货源供应和公平贸易的“A计划 ”时，曾预计此次改革将在未来5年内花费2亿英镑（合2.9亿美元）。但由于玛莎和沃尔玛一样，通过这些措施节省了成本，现在该公司发现改革没有增加成本。

This is the key to companies' stubborn adherence to corporate social responsibility. They have worked out how to make it pay. Many of their initiatives help to cut costs or sustain supplies. They allow customers to continue to regard themselves as ethical during difficult times. They also help the companies to improve their public reputations at a time when business is widely held to be responsible for the downturn.
这就是各大公司坚守企业社会责任的关键所在。它们已经找到了使这些举措物有所值的方法。其中许多措施或帮助它们削减成本，或帮助维持供应。这些措施使得消费者在困难时期仍能将自己视作有道德良知的人。在人们普遍认为商业应该为经济低迷负责的时候，这些措施还帮助企业改善了公共关系。

A pre-recession argument for corporate responsibility was that it gave companies a moral “licence to operate”. Some sceptics regarded this as a bit of a joke. Few do now.
在衰退前，关于企业责任有一种论点，即它给企业颁发了一张“道德执照”。有些怀疑论者认为这种观点多少有些可笑。但现在很少有人这么认为了。

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