Ethical consumer spending up in the UK

It is refreshing to see studies being performed on ethical consumerism. Having this information shows us how effective we are at getting the word out and getting us to think about what we’re buying…food or product. This report is a little dated as it refers to 2005 numbers, but I am confident that the trend has continued upward. A few figures that had a significant upswing were Organics at 30.5%, Fair Trade at 38.3% and Sustainable Fish at a huge 54.5%. Another interesting note was that Food Boycotts increased by 17.7%

The value of UK ethical consumerism last year exceeded the sales of ‘over-the-counter’ beer and cigarettes, according to the Co-operative Bank’s annual Ethical Consumerism Report.

The Report, which acts as a barometer of ethical spending in the UK, shows that in 2005 UK ethical consumerism was worth £29.3 billion, for the first time overtaking the retail market for tobacco and alcohol which stood at £28.0 billion.

…Spending on ethical food which includes organic products, Fairtrade goods and free-range eggs was up 18 per cent from £4.6 billion to £5.4 billion. Green home expenditure, which incorporates energy-efficient electrical appliances, green mortgage repayments, small renewables (such as micro-wind turbines) and green energy was up from £3.8 billion to £4.1 billion.

read the whole report here

Author Information - During his spare time Eric writes for and maintains wannaveg.com. For his day job he works for an electronics company in San Diego, CA. Eric has been a vegetarian for about 10 years and believes that going 'green' and reducing meat consumption go hand-in-hand.