Huge increase in 'ethical' spending

THE amount of money spent by Britons on ethical goods and services has almost trebled since 1999, according to Co-operative Bank.

Its Ethical Consumerism Report found the ethical market in the UK was worth 36 billion by the end of 2008, compared with 13.5bn in December 1999. Sales of ethical food, household goods and finance, as well as eco-travel, have all soared in the past ten years. Sales of Fairtrade products increased 30-fold over the decade, up from 22 million to 635m.

Domestic energy efficiency initiatives and developments helped drive a five-fold growth in green home expenditure, from 1.4bn to more than 7bn, with households spending more on energy efficient appliances and boilers. But spending on solar and renewable energy installations by homeowners has been relatively low.