This Christmas is set to be the ‘most ethical’ on record, say those at Ethical Consumer magazine whose annual Ethical Consumer Markets Report has tracked Britain’s ethical spending since 1999.

The latest report, published this week, shows that the UK ethical market grew 3.2 per cent in 2016, compared to general retail growth of less than 1 per cent. It means that for the fourteenth consecutive year, sales of ethical products here have grown faster than sales of non-ethical goods. The UK’s ethical market is now worth £81.3bn across 27 business sectors.

Give stories, not stuff

Inspire someone this Christmas with a Positive News magazine gift subscription

“It is encouraging to see that more and more people are consciously choosing ethical options at Christmas and rejecting mindless consumerism,” said Bevis Watts, managing director at leading sustainable bank Triodos, who sponsored the report. “Where we spend, save and invest has a huge impact on our environment and the world around us.”

Sales of ethical clothing increased by 22.4 per cent and the sector is now worth £36 million. There was also a 9.7 per cent increase in sales of ethical food and drink from 2015 to 2016. The organic food and drink market grew to £1.8bn, a year-on-year increase of 3.8 per cent. Sales of sustainable fish increased by 36.9 per cent and the sector is now worth £694m.

Shoppers increasingly want to know that products come from somewhere local to reduce their carbon footprint

One driving factor appears to be an increase in people shopping ethically in their local communities for environmental reasons, which rose 16 per cent in 2016 according to a YouGov survey conducted for the report.

Rob Harrison, co-editor at Ethical Consumer, told Positive News: “The growth in local shopping is a particularly significant trend in a world where it can feel like everything is going online. It appears that demand for locally produced artisan food, from bread to craft beer, is driving a revival of local shopping.

Where we spend, save and invest has a huge impact on our environment and the world around us

“Shoppers increasingly want to know that products come from somewhere local to reduce their carbon footprint. There has also been a big trend away from meat consumption generally. At Christmas time this could be, as they say, good news for turkeys.”

The post Dreaming of an ethical Christmas? 2017 set to be the best year yet for ‘conscious’ seasonal spending appeared first on Positive News.

British shoppers are buying in a far more ethical way than 10 years ago, with more than two thirds (66%) of Brits considering the ethics of a product before they purchase, according to a new study by global marketing firm McCann.

Comparatively, only 40% of French shoppers and 50% of Americans do the same. The global average was just over half, pitting the UK as the most ethically minded of the 11 countries profiled in McCann Worldgroup’s The Truth About Shopping research.

The British shopper isn’t totally virtuous however. The study reveals that despite Britain pioneering modern manners and etiquette, it doesn’t apply when it comes to the shopping environment. More than one in five Brits believe it is acceptable behaviour to buy an item of clothing online, wear it once, and then return it. Similarly, the same amount of people would excuse themselves from a business meeting with their boss to partake in an online sale to ensure they secure a coveted item of clothing. More surprisingly, over a third of British shoppers would be willing to enter into a competitive encounter with their fellow shoppers whilst in-store to ensure they secure a bargain and buy the last sale item.

Like what you’re reading? Positive News depends on your support to publish quality inspiring content. Please donate to help us continue pioneering a more constructive news media.

The study shows how British shoppers are getting increasingly tech-savvy when it comes to using online shopping. Privacy is still a key issue, with trust still a major barrier – in 2011, 77% of those profiled were happy for shopping behaviour data to be used by retailers, in 2014, this drops to 63%. However, two thirds of the UK said they would be willing to share personal information if there was some tangible benefit to their overall shopping experience.

Rodney Collins, McCann’s in-house-anthropologist and Truth Central regional director, who leads The Truth About Shopping research in Europe, said: “Even as technological innovations enable consumers to integrate the multi-fold practice of shopping deeper into their lives, the global financial downturn continues to impact shoppers the world over while deeper values aligned with sustainability and social good are increasingly shaping purchase decisions.”

This article was first published by Retail Times

The post British shoppers becoming increasingly ethically-driven appeared first on Positive News.