One in four UK shoppers are regularly buying Fairtrade marked goods as awareness and understanding of the Fairtrade mark has leapt. It seems that 70% of the population are aware of the mark, according to research commissioned by the Fairtrade Foundation released to coincide with the World Fair Trade Day on the 10th May. Alongside this there is greater awareness of what the mark actually means with the TNS OmniBus
findings citing 64% of people linking the mark with a better deal for growers in developing countries. There is a growing trend for people to be buying Fairtrade products on a regular basis.
Contact The Fairtrade Foundation press office
0207 440 7620/7695 www.fairtrade.org.uk
TRACING THE THREADS OF ETHICAL FASHION
Thread is the new online BBC magazine launched in April for those who prefer fashion without the guilt, and want to know more about ethical and environmental clothing issues. According to research conducted for the magazine, ethical fashion is a booming area with more and more young people concerned about the origin of their clothes. Nearly a third of 16-30 year olds surveyed intend on buying more ethical fashion in the future,
half want information on the working conditions of people making their clothes, and 30% want information on energy usage in production. Other concerns include transportation and the use of undisclosed pesticides and toxic chemicals.
British shoppers would rather see plastic bags scrapped altogether than face a ‘tax’ or levy at the supermarket till, according to a survey conducted by Populus for The Times newspaper. Nearly three quarters, 72%, believed the best way to prompt behavioural change was through offering incentives such as rewards points, rather than charging for plastic bags. Supermarkets were told by Alistair Darling earlier this year that they must either get rid of plastic bags or start charging for them or they would face government legislation. Nearly 13 billion plastic bags are given out every year.
Companies who tout their green credentials without proper substance run the risk of being perceived as greenwashing, according to a survey by Chatsworth Communications. The first ever Chatsworth FTSE 100 green survey uncovered growing cynicism towards the eco-friendly image portrayed by UK companies in a poll that surveyed UK national and trade journalists, sustainability experts and political groups. Top of the green list was Marks and Spencer, followed by BSkyB and HSBC. In contrast, Tesco and British Airways are seen to be most guilty of greenwashing.
Half of the respondents believed that the current level of media coverage is contributing towards green fatigue, while 48% believed national governments need to take the lead on environmental issues.
There has been a sharp increase in the number of people making complaints about companies’ ‘green credentials’, according to the Advertising Standards Authority annual report. In 2007 the number of complaints about environmental claims leapt significantly to 561 complaints over 410 different adverts; compared to only 117 complaints over 83 ads in the previous year. Those adverts that came under particular attack were ones
making statements about products or services being carbon “neutral”, “zero” or “negative”; and those claiming goods or services as being “100% recycled” or “wholly sustainable”. An advert for Shell picturing flowers emanating from factory chimneys; one for Ryanair; and a magazine advert for Lexus with the headline “High Performance. Low Emissions. Zero Guilt,” were all mentioned in the report. Last year the ASA gave a series of rulings setting benchmarks for advertisers to follow.
According to the IBM’s Global CEO Study the ‘socially-minded’ customer is one of two new customer classes presenting CEOs with dramatic changes in their customer bases. The survey, based on face-to-face interviews with 1,130 CEOs from 40 countries across 32 industries, discovered a growing number of global business leaders see important changes ahead. Many point to their own customer base as being the source of the most important changes, with the rise of the ‘socially-minded’ customer and the ‘information omnivore’ two new demanding classes of customers. CEOs plan their most significant increases in investment in response to these two classes. The Enterprise of the Future, the title of
the study, was conducted by IBM Global Business Services along with the Economist Intelligence Unit.
Contact IBM general enquiries
001 800 IBM 4YOU www.ibm.com
US CONSUMERS WILL PAY MORE FOR RENEWABLY SOURCED GOODS
Nearly seven out of 10 U.S. consumers are willing to pay at least $5 more on a $100 product for goods that are made with renewable resources, according to a new survey, sponsored by DuPont and Mohawk Industries. The survey, released on 14th April, questioned 1,001 U.S. homeowners in order to identify consumers’ personal attitudes toward environmental responsibility. Other findings include 32% of respondents said they would consider purchasing renewably sourced products that are more expensive to help deter global warming. Women tended to be more environmentally responsible than men, while 86% of women said environmental responsibility is important only 74% of men said the same.
Income and age were not found to have an impact on a person’s sense of environmental responsibility. The survey found that there was no significant difference between income groups in recognising the importance of environmental responsibility.
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