Cost Reduces Eco-friendly Shopping

HALF of shoppers would make more environmentally-friendly choices if it was cheaper, a poll found. A huge 48 per cent said they wanted to do the right thing but cost often held them back.

Researchers asked if Britain’s shoppers wanted to make different food choices such as buying local produce, avoiding plastic packaging, cutting down on meat and choose more sustainable products to help the environment.

Shoppers in Bristol find the trade off between planet and money the most difficult with 53 per cent wanting to do the right thing but not being able to afford it.

Cardiff and Norwich shoppers also struggled with 52 per cent saying the choice is a headache because they didn’t always have the spare cash.

Shoppers in Manchester and Birmingham also said the choice is a problem with 51 per cent having to weigh up costs.

Shoppers in Belfast are the most likely to put the planet first with just 38 per cent saying money affected their choices. Photo courtesy of Tourism NI.

Some 50 per cent of people in Brighton and Glasgow said the same followed by 47 per cent of people in Sheffield and Newcastle.

London shoppers are among the least conflicted with just 46 per cent saying cost held them back.

But shoppers in Belfast are the most likely to put the planet first with just 38 per cent saying money affected their choices.

Plant based spread company Upfield, which makes Flora spreads, asked 2,511 UK adults how cost affected their shopping choices when trying to shop with the environment in mind.

Spokesman Damian Guha said: “Environmental issues are of increasing concern across the UK and rightly so.

“More and more people are becoming aware of the impact of their purchasing behaviours and the impact that the food they eat has on the environment.”

Researchers found just 23 per cent of people nationwide can afford to make positive environmental changes to their food shopping habits regardless of cost.