According to the Ethical Consumer Markets Report 2016, compiled by Triodos Bank and Ethical Consumer, there are some seriously heartwarming, planet-friendly rising trends taking place in the way UK shoppers are deciding to spend their money.
Bevis Watts, Managing Director at Triodos Bank UK states in his opening address that society continues to face a great many challenges, including climate change, global economic pressures and increasing inequality.
When faced with these demoralising facts, many people slide into a negative mindset that falsely leads them to believe that their individual spending actions have little power to make a positive impact.
We couldn’t disagree more and by the size of the increase in ethical shoppers, we’re clearly not alone!
The report confirms there is a delightfully rising trend in considerate green consumers and states:
Ethical purchases in the UK recorded an impressive 8.5% growth during 2015, a year which saw inflation rates bottomed out at 0.0%. This is the 13th consecutive year of growth for our Ethical Purchases section of the report, reflecting the continued appeal of ethical markets in the UK. As a whole the Ethical Purchases market was
valued at £38 billion.
Interestingly enough, they didn’t only look at the rising trends, they paid attention to declining ones too and claim many consumers in the UK are conducting personal boycotts based on criteria including environmental impact, human rights, animal welfare, labour standards, corporate practices and more.
They concluded:
- 49% of the UK population choosing to avoid buying products and/or services over concerns about ethical reputation,
- Personal boycotts are most prevalent amongst young adults aged 18-24, at 63%.
Planting trees on the Coast Province of Kenya with us, would make you a seriously ethical consumer.
A tiny handful of the positive environmental impacts include purifying the air we breathe by taking in carbon dioxide through leaves and locking it into the wood. This improves global air quality as the by-product is of course, nice clean oxygen, a fundamental requirement for humans and other creatures. Each mature tree absorbs approximately 240kg of CO2 and because their location is very close to the equator, they’ll grow incredibly quickly. The roots help too by holding the earth firmly in place around the trees and preventing soil erosion which has the added benefit of keeping the waterways cleaner; you can be responsible for all that and more with a couple of clicks of your mouse.
Hop on over to our shop and have a slow mooch around for the perfect green gift.
The Team
