Ethical consumers are spoiled for choice. Fairtrade, organic, local, second hand, vegan, animal friendly, environmentally sustainable - the list for socially-minded shoppers is constantly growing.
The amount spent on ethical consumerism adds up to £24.7bn a year in the UK, according to the Co-operative Bank's recent ethical purchasing index. While the figures remain low when compared to total domestic consumption (about £1 in every £29 is spent ethically), market growth rates of 40% since 1999 show a strong upward trend for buying ethical goods and services.
The willingness of UK consumers to take action through their wallets is seen most obviously in the uptake of Fairtrade-certified goods, such as tea, coffee and chocolate. This grew by 40% in 2004, and now represents an expenditure of £85m a year.
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