Ethical Spending Makes News in Britain
Dec 10th, 2007 • Posted in: NewsEthical consumerism sharply on the rise, according to survey; Financial Times warns, though, that in rush to supply ethical investment funds, some firms blunder; also, ethical holiday gifts are becoming hot items.
LONDON
Britain, emerging as the international test case for various methods and philosophies of ethical spending and investment, was the focus of several related stories last week:
- A report from a major bank finds that U.K. households spent almost twice as much on so-called ethical goods last year as they did five years ago, the BBC reports. The Co-operative Bank says that last year’s outlay was up 81 percent from 2002. The average U.K. household spent about $1,300 on ethical goods last year. The biggest ethical niches, according to a summary from the U.K. Press Association, were in the categories of food, clothing, energy, transport, and financial products. The bank defines ethical consumerism as personal allocation of funds, including consumption and investment, based on a particular issue, such as human rights, social justice, the environment, or animal welfare, according to the U.K. Guardian.
- In the face of skyrocketing demand for ethical financial vehicles, more U.K. fund managers are finding they have no choice but to give the public what it wants. But the problem, claims an analysis from the London-based Financial Times, is that many funds don’t have the knowledge, experience, or will to provide a credible ethical fund. The publication cites instances where investment firms claiming to offer an ethical program put money in companies involved in alcohol, animal testing, gambling, and pornography. And, claims the report, some funds will invest in companies that acknowledge ethical problems while doing little to confront them.
- Sky News reports that ethical and environmentally friendly presents are at the top of many holiday gift lists this year. In a survey of more than 1,000 British adults, the environmental charity Cool Earth found that consumers planned to buy a wide range of green stocking-stuffers, including solar-powered chargers for consumer electronics, wind-up radios, and bicycles. However, some environmentally friendly presents appear not to be catching on — including stationery made from recycled elephant dung.
Sources: Financial Times, Dec. 4 — Sky News, Dec. 2 — BBC, Nov. 30 — Guardian, Nov. 30.
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