DoorOne.co.uk, an eBay-owned online shopping site, has conducted a survey of 1,152 UK adults, aged 16+, to launch a new ethical recommendations service on dooronerecommends.co.uk. The study revealed some very interesting trends. 98% of Brits do not view Gordon Brown as a representative for ethical living. This doesn’t come as a surprise to me. Brown is not the new Green, despite his promise to create a green nation.
The founder of the Body Shop, Anita Roddick was voted as the top representative of ethical living and shopping. Other representatives topping the poll included: Bob Geldof, Stella McCartney, Bono and David Cameron. I can think of better ethical representatives, but the public has spoken!
84% of the UK felt that ethical campaigns such as Bono’s American Express RED campaign and Anya Hindmarch’s ‘I’m Not a Plastic Bag’ campaign, were over hyped, to such an extent that 87% of the UK would refrain from buying products from such campaigns.
Shockingly, a third of those questioned had no idea where the profits for ethical products go or what the benefits of purchasing these products are. 67% of the nation find ethical products too costly, which comes as no surprise.
The study has shown that the public are not enamoured with a possible green tax, although one in four people would be willing to pay extra tax on certain items.
It appears that people are highly confused about terms such as ‘fair-trade,’ ‘eco-friendly,’ and ‘organic.’ More than two thirds of respondents were baffled by the term fair-trade and a quarter of these believe the term refers to the eco-friendliness of products.
With the nation befuddled about green living, what is there to do? DoorOne.co.uk offers advice on a range of ethical products to save you time when you are shopping and to help debunk the realm of ethical purchasing. The aim is to create informed green consumers. For more information see www.dooronerecommends.co.uk.
From: BEST OF 2008: Eco-friendy and sustainable shoes