Ethical Investing Is Growing
One thing is for sure: ethical investing has been growing. As a general trend each year more money is spent on ethical goods such as those which carry the fairtrade mark.
However, there are signs that during the economic downturn some areas of ethical buying has been affected too with sales of organic fruit and veg stalling slightly in 2009.
Whether this will be a blip or have a long term impact on ethical spending patterns remains to be seem; however it does appear that growth patterns in ethical shopping will continue.
One thing is for sure, there is plenty of research into ethical buying which reveals a picture of what trends are in terms of ethical investing patterns.
Going Mainstream: Ethical Spending Facts and Figures
An annual report issued by the Soil Association, the Organic Market Report 2010, provides an interesting look at consumer spending in the organic sector and provides insights into the growth of ethical investing as a whole.
2009 sales of organic products in the UK were worth £1.84 billion – a decrease of 12.9 per cent on 2008. Sales slowed significantly after many years of double-digit percentage growth, as shoppers reduced their spending in the economic downturn and leading retailers reduced organic ranges and shelf space.
Clear signs of revival in the organic market suggest that it will return to growth in 2010.
Over 60 per cent of the UK big organic brands are planning for growth in 2010. The Soil Association predicts a market expansion of 2–5 per cent. The proportion of households buying some organic
food fell slightly in 2009, from 88.9 per cent to 88.3 per cent.
Organic milk, baby food and home cooking ingredients were the food categories that resisted the downward trend in sales, with sales increasing by 1 per cent, 20.8 per cent and 1.4 per cent respectively.
Despite a drop in the market, sales of organic food were still more than three times higher than ten years previously and more than 50 per cent higher than five years ago.
Sales of organic health and beauty products continue to grow dynamically, increasing by a third to £36 million. Also, significantly, as many co-operatives and other organisations look to invest in organic farming, the area of organic land increased by 9 per cent on the previous year, up to 4.3 per cent of agricultural land.
Ethical Consumerism Reports – Growth Continuing
An even bigger guide to ethical investing is the Ethical Consumerism Report which is published by the Co-operative Bank and the New Economics Foundation, and looks at wider issues such as boycotting habits, trends on public transport use, the levels of researching going on into company’s ethical reputations before investing, recycling and supporting local shops and industries.
Generally the picture from 2009 reports growth everywhere in ethical investing.
Other reports from 2009 suggest that ethical shopping awareness is soaring too, especially key consumer areas such as ethical clothing ranges and ethical foods as a whole.
A report in 2009, following a poll of 14,500 people in 15 countries, also revealed that more than half regard themselves as ethical investors or ethical consumers.
The UK had the greatest awareness, with more than four out of five saying they recognised the Fairtrade mark.
The majority of shoppers said they expect companies to act responsibly towards the environment and producers in developing countries, a survey has suggested.
Fairtrade was worth a staggering £700m ($1 billion) in UK retail sales in 2008 alone.