Consumers increasingly choose green financial products
Published On 21 March 2007
Consumers are increasingly prepared to choose financial products, such as credit cards, mortgages and motor insurance, which help the environment, according to new research.Data gathered by Co-operative Financial Services (CFS) showed that more than eight in ten (82 per cent) people would be prepared to pick 'eco-friendly' financial products if they would help the environment.
Several financial organisations have now begun to offer financial products that help the environment in some way.
For example, customers who use a credit card from CFS can pick a charity - such as Oxfam, Greenpeace and Amnesty International - to support. On taking out the card, and when it is used, the provider pledges to makes a donation to the charity.
Similarly, Co-operative Insurance offsets 20 per cent of all the carbon emissions from every car it insures.
"Research shows that ethical consumerism is growing and is already worth more than £29.3 billion to the UK economy," David Newman, the marketing director at CFS, explained.
"We have been aware of the growing influence of ethics in consumer choice since we launched our ethical policy 15 years ago and it is now becoming more mainstream."
Recently, website Moneyexpert reported that around £10 billion is ethically invested in retail funds and a further £80 billion in occupational pension schemes.
