What you need to know
Buying of ethically certified food and drink is widespread at 83% of UK adults. Retail value sales of products with selected ethical certifications also saw strong growth over 2018-23. However, price considerations remain a barrier to buying of ethical food and drink, and the sector stands exposed should disposable household incomes come under pressure in the coming years.
Animal welfare, and environmental and health concerns are among key reasons for buying ethical food and drink. Reflecting this, environmentally friendly packaging and limiting food waste stand neck-and-neck as being cited widely as influencing food and drink buying.
There is widespread uncertainty among consumers over what the different ethical certifications stand for and whether their buying choices make a difference. This makes it imperative for companies to explain clearly to consumers the principles underpinning ethically certified products and the benefits to wider society of buying these products.
Products covered in this Report
This Report explores UK consumers’ attitudes towards ethical issues in the food and drink supply chain. It also explores their ethical food and drink shopping behaviour.
The definition of ‘ethical’ in this Report is broad, covering for example, but not limited to, animal welfare, environmental welfare and worker welfare, and other such issues that businesses might cover as part of their corporate social responsibility commitments/strategies. Due to the diverse nature of this subject not all areas can be explored within the remit of this Report.
