British buyers care significantly less about eco-friendly products than French and Swedish shoppers despite the best efforts of the green lobby, according to Intersperience, the international consumer research specialist.
The team conducted research among consumers in the UK, France and Sweden into attitudes towards products with environmental credentials and found that close to one-third of British respondents (28%) do not consider environmental credentials at all when making purchasing decisions.
This compares to just 14% of Swedish respondents, while French consumers proved to be the most eco-conscious, with only 6% saying that they do not consider a product’s environmental credentials.
Meanwhile only 5% of Brits surveyed said they care passionately about environmental credentials, compared to 13% of Swedes and 13% of French respondents.
When it comes to making hard decisions to part with cash, 50% of French consumers said that if two products appeared similar they would evaluate their environmental credentials to make their choice, compared to just 34% of Brits and 19% of Swedes.
The findings pose interesting questions about cultural differences on green issues in Europe as the survey took place against a backdrop of increasing efforts by manufacturers and retailers to badge products as eco-friendly.
Although Britain trailed both France and Sweden in the Intersperience survey when it comes to eco-friendly purchasing habits, overall UK expenditure on ethical goods and services has grown over the past five years.
The overall UK ethical market is estimated to be worth more than £35 billion annually, with the fastest growth seen in food and drink and ethical financial products.