The Ethical Consumerism Report 2003 - The Co-operative

Defining the Ethical MarketplaceSince 1999 the bank and nef have produced the Ethical Purchasing Index (EPI) to record andreport on UK sales of goods and services marketed as ‘ethical’. ‘Ethical’, in this context, isdefined as personal consumption where a choice of product or service exists which supportsa particular ethical issue – be it human rights, the environment or animal welfare.In defining ethics in this way, it has been understood that it may have resulted in anunder-reporting of the total contribution that ethical consumption makes to the UK economy.In response to this, the Ethical Consumer Research Association (ECRA) has beencommissioned to provide advice on what should be measured and reported upon. For 2002,this is based on ECRA’s ‘Ten Shopping Tips for the Ethical Consumer’ 1 (see table overleaf).Ethical Purchasing Index19992000Total Sales£4.8 billion£5.7 billion150125100Index2001£6.1 billion752002£6.9 billion501999 2000 2001 2002The EPI measures the growth in market share for ethical products. From a base line of 100 in1999 the Index stands up 30 points at 130 in 2002.1www.ethicalconsumer.org7