The Co-op’s unique Ethical Consumerism Report has tracked total UK ethical expenditure every year for the past two decades. For the end of 2019, we report that ethical consumer spending and finance in the UK reached record levels at some £98bn (supporting data can be found on page 5). This Report, however, mainly focuses on how the pandemic in 2020 has impacted on people’s predisposition to continue to shop ethically. The big winners appear to be shopping locally, reducing energy consumption and cycling more, with public transport set to be the big loser, at least in the short term. In terms of food shopping, Fairtrade and organic have also out-performed the market and look set to continue to benefit post-pandemic.
Ethical food and drink
In terms of ethical food shopping, Fairtrade sales increased 13.7% between October 2019 and October 2020 (ahead of total grocery, increased by 9.4%1 ). This is set to strengthen even further as 28% of people plan to purchase Fairtrade in the future, compared to just 15% pre-pandemic.
Meanwhile, Organic sales increased by 19% in the 12 weeks ending May 2020 and 19% of people intend to buy organic products after the pandemic, compared to 8% pre-March 2020.
This suggests an increased public appetite for higher quality produce. Sales of meat-free and dairy-free products increased by 25% and 28% respectively in the 12 weeks ending April 2020.
Going forward, 30% of people intend to eat less meat and dairy than before. This change is likely due to people paying more attention to their health, the environment and/or animal welfare, as these topics are increasingly dominating the public’s decision making.
Plastic use
Intention to reduce the use of single-use plastics is set to increase with 54% saying that they will be even more focused on this issue post-pandemic. This is despite many having reverted to single-use coffee cups and shopping bags for hygiene reasons, and the widespread need for disposable PPE during the pandemic.
Local shopping
People spent around £3.4bn in local shops during 2019, and as people continue to stay close to home, this figure is set to increase significantly in the future. Research has indicated that 60% of consumers have said that post-pandemic they expect to buy from local shops (compared to 40% shopping locally pre-Covid), giving a promising indication to independent retailers outside of major towns and cities for 2021 and beyond.
Energy Use
Working from home during lockdown appears to have focused consumers on energy use with 44% of people claiming to have reduced energy use during the pandemic, while 52% of people said they will be looking to reduce their usage post-lockdown. This comes on top of a huge 338% increase in spend on green electricity tariffs in 2019, up to £4.8bn.
