Co-op reports ethical consumerism rising |
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| Friday, 30 November 2007 | |
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According to the Independent, high street shoppers are boycotting fast fashion retails over concern of factory worker conditions. More than one million
shoppers boycotted the likes of Primark last year amid publicity about low wages and long working weeks. Around £175m worth of business was lost because of the boycotts – up 400 per cent on 2005, said the Co-operative Bank's Ethical Consumerism Report 2007.
Overall, five per cent of the population, about three million people, followed their conscience and refused to shop at particular clothing companies. Half of those (52 per cent) – 1.5 million people – refused to patronise at least one low-cost clothing outlet. Although the report did not name the retailers, The Independent understands the main targets of boycotts in the £8bn-a-year "value" clothing market were Primark, Tesco and Asda. The Co-op said: "Most consumers report that once they boycott a brand they are unlikely to return to it. However, it appears that where businesses are taking a responsible approach to such issues, this is filtering through to consumers, as 2006 saw less evidence for boycotts of such brands. In its report, the Co-op said that ethical consumption as a whole rose by 9 per cent to £32.3bn. One of the fastest-rising sectors was fair-trade food and drink, which spiked 46 per cent to £285m as awareness of the Fairtrade mark grows. |
