Shopping still costs the Earth

There is still no such thing as a truly green consumer despite the increase in the range of green and ‘ethical’ products available, according to new Leeds-led research into the choices and trade-offs made by shoppers.

The team found we are still tempted by bargains, with price most commonly traded off against a product’s environmental performance. Also, shoppers find it easy to apply ethical values to more everyday purchases like food or clothing but struggle to reconcile the competing issues of brand, energy efficiency and desire to shop locally for more major items such as dishwashers.