Ethical products 'becoming more popular'

Shoppers are becoming more ethical - buying sustainable and green products and boycotting those with controversial policies.

That is according to the latest annual report on ethical spending published by Ethical Consumer magazine.

It shows that overall spending on ethical goods and services grew by nine per cent in 2013 - a much higher rate than the wider economy.

The study found that the ethical goods industry is now worth £32 billion and awareness about good and bad practices is on the increase.

The report found that one in five shoppers are boycotting specific products or retail outlets because of concerns over human rights, labour standards, animal welfare and tax avoidance.

One of the markets to see a particularly rapid increase in growth is electric, hybrid and other low-emission cars, where sales grew by 78 per cent in 2013 to be worth almost £5 billion.

Copyright Press Association 2015