Ethical consumers extend their influence
Sandra Haurant | 08.12.2003 12:43
Guardian article about ethical consumption.
(awaits anarchist rant about how no consumption is ethical etc)
(awaits anarchist rant about how no consumption is ethical etc)
Ethical consumers extend their influence
Sandra Haurant
Monday December 8, 2003
Boycotts by ethically-minded consumers cost big brands £2.6bn last year, with 52% of people claiming to have avoided at least one product, a report claimed today.
The Co-operative Bank's Ethical Purchasing Index found that during 2002, ethical consumption in the UK was worth £19.86bn. It estimates that £6.9bn was spent on ethical goods and services, while £7.4bn went to ethical financial services.
Additionally, around £5.6bn was spent in line with consumers' principles through shopping locally, boycotting big brands, recycling and using public transport.
The biggest area of ethical spending was in banking, where the market share increased by 16% during the year to £3.9bn - although at the same time money invested in ethical or green funds fell by 8% to £3.5bn.
Consumers spent around £1.77bn on Fairtrade and organic food during the year and £1.47bn on green household goods, such as environmentally-friendly cleaning products and energy efficient appliances. A further £187m was spent on cosmetics not tested on animals, while £107m went on responsible tourism.
Simon Williams, director of corporate affairs at The Co-operative Bank, said: "The full extent of ethical consumerism will always be difficult to gauge, given that it is about the motivation behind a particular purchase as much as the product or service itself. For instance, many people shop locally for convenience but for others the overriding consideration is to buy from local stores in order to support their community."
The research found that sales of energy-efficient household appliances now have a 41% market share, while 40% of eggs sold are free range.
Impressive as these figures are, however, the total market share of ethical goods and services remains at under 2%, and while eight out of 10 consumers oppose testing cosmetics on animals, sales of cosmetics that comply with the Humane Cosmetics Standard have yet to achieve a 2% market share.
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Sandra Haurant
Monday December 8, 2003
Boycotts by ethically-minded consumers cost big brands £2.6bn last year, with 52% of people claiming to have avoided at least one product, a report claimed today.
The Co-operative Bank's Ethical Purchasing Index found that during 2002, ethical consumption in the UK was worth £19.86bn. It estimates that £6.9bn was spent on ethical goods and services, while £7.4bn went to ethical financial services.
Additionally, around £5.6bn was spent in line with consumers' principles through shopping locally, boycotting big brands, recycling and using public transport.
The biggest area of ethical spending was in banking, where the market share increased by 16% during the year to £3.9bn - although at the same time money invested in ethical or green funds fell by 8% to £3.5bn.
Consumers spent around £1.77bn on Fairtrade and organic food during the year and £1.47bn on green household goods, such as environmentally-friendly cleaning products and energy efficient appliances. A further £187m was spent on cosmetics not tested on animals, while £107m went on responsible tourism.
Simon Williams, director of corporate affairs at The Co-operative Bank, said: "The full extent of ethical consumerism will always be difficult to gauge, given that it is about the motivation behind a particular purchase as much as the product or service itself. For instance, many people shop locally for convenience but for others the overriding consideration is to buy from local stores in order to support their community."
The research found that sales of energy-efficient household appliances now have a 41% market share, while 40% of eggs sold are free range.
Impressive as these figures are, however, the total market share of ethical goods and services remains at under 2%, and while eight out of 10 consumers oppose testing cosmetics on animals, sales of cosmetics that comply with the Humane Cosmetics Standard have yet to achieve a 2% market share.
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Sandra Haurant
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