Growth In Eco Fashion Suggests Green Is The New Black

Sales of ethical clothing, which includes organic cotton, fair trade clothes and garments made from re-cycled material, was up 30 per cent from £33 million in 2003 to £43 million Iast year. At the same time, ethically motivated second-hand clothing purchases totalled £341 million.

The Report, which acts as a barometer of ethical spending in the UK, shows that in 2004 UK consumers spent a total of £25.8 billion in line with their values, an increase of 15 per cent on the previous year. Over the same period, UK household expenditure increased by only 3.7 per cent.

In addition to the increase in eco fashion, the Report, which is published in conjunction with nef (the new economics foundation) and The Future Foundation, breaks down the ethical market into five distinct sectors.

Spending on food, which includes organic products, Fairtrade goods and free range eggs, was up from £3.7 billion to £4.1 billion. Green home expenditure, which incorporates energy-efficient electrical appliances, green mortgage repayments and small renewables such as micro wind turbines, was up from £1.9 billion to £2.5 billion.

Ethical travel and transport costs, which include environmentally friendly transport, responsible tour operators and public transport, were up from £1.5 billion to £1.6 billion.

Personal spending on green items such as humane cosmetics, local shopping as well as eco fashion expenditure was up from £6.1 billion to £6.9 billion. Monies in ethical finance, which includes ethical banking and investments, broke through the £10 billion barrier to stand at £10.6 billion, up from £9.0 billion last year.

Simon Williams, Director of Corporate Affairs at Co-operative Financial Services (CFS), said: "As we can see from the growth in ethical clothing sales, a growing number of consumers take ethical considerations on board before making purchasing decisions. However, there are some areas where it would appear much more intervention is needed by Government, particularly where the unethical alternatives are so much cheaper. Sustainable timber sales are practically static after growing 18 per cent between 2002 and 2003 and growth in organics, whilst significant, is slowing."

Dr John Taylor , Director of Local and Regional Economies, at nef (the new economics foundation) said: " One of the most striking growth areas is the amount UK consumers are now spending to combat climate change. As politicians procrastinate, British consumers are taking matters into their own hands and responding actively to global climate change. The time is right for a massive increase in support for consumers from government so that we can turn a vanguard of climate friendly behaviour into a mass movement to stop global warming."

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