Starting an ethical business

With expenditure on ethical products now topping £32.2bn a year (up from £29.7bn last year) are you considering taking a step into the market and grabbing a slice of the action? And if so where should you pitch your business?

Every year, a typical green/environmental/ethical consumer household now spends:

• £190 a year on ethical food and drink (Fairtrade increasing at 46% per annum)




• £123 on household products (energy efficient light bulbs increase at 44% year on year)




• £6 per annum on energy – could that become the growth opportunity for the future?

The tide is definitely changing and there are opportunities for those who are interested in being part of the new movement.

However, it's no longer a niche market. Marks and Spencer's 'No Plan B' project, Toyota's 'Follow the bandwagon' advertising for the Prius and Café Direct's Fairtrade Coffee brand being encroached by Nestle's own 'fairly traded coffee', are just a few examples of how big brands have seen the light (and the consumer pounds) and started to change the positioning of their products.