The Co-operative Bank is reporting that ethical* consumer spending in the UK has doubled to 5% of our total since 2002. Food in particular is one sector where consumers are choosing fairtrade, organic and sustainably sourced products, breaking through the 5% ‘glass ceiling’ to hit 7%. Energy efficient white goods continue to grow ever more popular, up 44%, aided by easy-to-understand energy ratings.

This clearly shows that the opportunities in green markets are real and fast growing. However it still bothers me how rubbish some ‘green’ products are. Normal people (ie outside the treehugger niche) will only buy green if they think they’re getting reasonable quality/performance in particular and that they aren’t being ripped off on price. It is that simple.

* “ethical” covers choices informed by human rights, social justice, environment or animal welfare