UK Ethical Retailing Market Report 2022
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The UK Ethical Retailing Market Report identifies consumers’ awareness and attitudes towards ethical retailing, leading UK ethical retailers and future innovations in the UK ethical retail market. This report covers the UK ethical retail market size, market forecast, market segmentation and ethical retail trends in the UK.
UK Ethical Retailing Market: Current Landscape
Ethical consumer behaviours are on the rise, however, the cost of living crisis is squeezing consumers’ purchasing power, and when coupled with supply chain and production issues, it will cause some consumers to trade down. Cautious households are also increasing practices such as second-hand shopping, upcycling and reusing items across numerous sectors, including DIY, home retailing and beauty and personal care.
UK Ethical Retailing Market: Key Industry Trends
When the cost of living crisis eases, ethical consumer behaviours will move into the spotlight again across multiple categories, including travel. An increased number of consumers are calling for transparency from brands and proof of their ethical practices, supply chains, ingredients and materials. Consumers want to ensure their money is spent with brands that share their values.
- 60% of UK adults have bought a product with a fairtrade certificate in the past 12 months.
- 28% of UK consumers have bought a product with a vegan certificate in the past 12 months.
- 32% of UK adults have upcycled/repaired items in the past 12 months.
- 66% of UK consumers say that eating sustainably/ethically is harder when money is tight.
Ethical Retail Market: Future Trends and Innovations
More and more shoppers actively seek out ethical brands to shop with, presenting an abundance of opportunities for UK ethical retailers to focus on becoming sustainable and ethically aware. Brands in the ethical retail market can harness future opportunities if they offer consumers transparent, understandable information about their product’s sourcing, manufacturing and environmental impact.
To discover more about the UK Ethical Retailing Market Report 2022, read our UK Fashion and Sustainability Market Report 2022, or take a look at our extensive Sustainability Market Research.
Quickly Understand
- Outlines UK ethical retailers.
- Usage and awareness of ethical certifications.
- Explores ethical consumer behaviour over the last 12 months.
- Motivations for ethical shopping practices and interest in ethical innovations.
- Explores ethical retail market size.
Covered in this Report
Brands: M&S, Lidl, Tesco, Persil, BrewDog, Tetley, Morrisons, Uniqulo, Dobbies, IKEA, H&M, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co, Balmain, Sainsbury’s, Asda, PrettyLittleTHings, Space NK, Depop, Currys, Boots, Aldi, Kurt Geiger, L’Oreal, ASOS, BodyShop, Primark, French Connection, Apple, Levi, Unilever, L’Occitane, Thrift+, Earth & Wheat, Oddbox.
Retail Categories: grocery, home and fashion.
Expert Analysis from a UK Retail Specialist
This report, written by Fiona McDonald, a leading analyst in the retail sector, delivers in-depth commentary and analysis to highlight current trends in the UK ethical retail market and add expert context to the numbers.
Consumers are increasingly valuing ethical practices when considering which retailers to shop at. Knowing that workers and suppliers are treated fairly as well as the source and makeup of products gives shoppers confidence in their ethical shopping behaviours. Brands must make ethical choices easy and tangible for consumers, who will look to brands to lead the way. With an increase in brands and retailers being called out for greenwashing, it is vital that brands make transparency more understandable for consumers.”
Fiona McDonald
Retail Analyst
Collapse All
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Overview
- Key issues covered in this Report
- Market context
- Products covered in this Report
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Executive Summary
- The five-year outlook for ethical retailing
- Figure 1: Category outlook for ethical retailing, 2022-27
- The market
- Revolution Fashion Transparency Index
- Figure 2: Brands and retailers disclosing information about their suppliers, 2017-22
- Record price of plastic drives sustainable innovation
- Companies and brands
- The Body Shop and Boots stand out for ethicality
- M&S pilots refillable homecare products, while Tesco launches ‘Better Basket’
- The consumer
- Consumers look for ethical sourcing
- Figure 3: How consumers define ethical brands/retailers, 2022
- Fairtrade the most recognised ethical certification
- Figure 4: Awareness around ethical certifications, 2022
- Consumers forgoing new clothing purchases
- Figure 5: Ethical shopping behaviours, 2022
- Locally sourced products and transparency key for consumers
- Figure 6: Motivations for buying from an ethical retailer/brand, 2022
- Keen interest in recycling and food waste services
- Figure 7: Interest in ethical retailing innovations, 2022
- The five-year outlook for ethical retailing
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Issues and Insights
- What impact will the rising cost of living have on ethical retailing?
- Opportunities for retailers to focus on
- From homeware to fashion, veganism is expanding
- Rising interest in second-hand and rental
- Demand for locally sourced products
- Cutting out waste through recycling services and waste food subscriptions
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Market Drivers
- Revolution Fashion Transparency Index
- Figure 8: Brands and retailers disclosing information about their suppliers, 2017-22
- European Commission proposes a directive on sustainable and responsible corporate behaviour
- UK moves towards greener practices
- Growing population puts pressure on resources
- Figure 9: UK population estimates and projections, 1991-2041
- Online shopping continues to grow
- Record price of plastic drives sustainable innovation
- Palm oil raises issues of eco and social sustainability
- Growing focus on reducing meat consumption to help the planet
- The conflict in Ukraine will hurt the UK economy
- GDP reached pre-pandemic levels in November 2021…
- …but the post-COVID-19 bounce-back will be followed by a period of slower growth
- Employment has held up better than expected
- Inflation is the key concern in 2022 for consumers, brands and the economy
- Consumers’ financial wellbeing has slipped from its recent high point…
- Figure 10: Household financial wellbeing index, 2016-22
- …and concerns over inflation are coming to the fore
- Revolution Fashion Transparency Index
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Launch Activity and Innovation
- Refill and repair stations in stores
- M&S pilots refillable homecare products
- Lidl trials ‘smart’ refill station for laundry detergent
- Figure 11: Lidl’s smart detergent station, 2022
- Tesco ends trial with refillable packaging platform Loop
- Uniqlo’s first in-store repair station
- Figure 12: Uniqlo and Theory joint venture store, 2022
- Morrisons pilots ‘rentable’ salad boxes in latest sustainability push
- Figure 13: Morrisons’ ‘rentable’ salad boxes with CauliBox, 2022
- Retailers support their communities
- Lidl launches “Good To Give” Trustmark
- Dobbies rolls out Helping Your Community Grow initiative
- Figure 14: Dobbies Helping Your Community Grow, 2022
- IKEA and H&M team up for joint venture ‘Atelier 100’
- Retailers help shoppers make more sustainable and healthier choices
- Tesco launches ‘Better Basket’ campaign
- Figure 15: Tesco’s Better Basket campaign, 2022
- Lidl experiments with eco-score labels
- Brands and diversity
- Louis Vuitton launches first Ramadan ready-to-wear collection
- Balmain to launch gender-neutral collection of fine jewellery
- Tiffany and Co launches debut male engagement ring
- Tesco reveals first-ever Ramadan campaign
- Figure 16: Tesco’s first Ramadan campaign, 2022
- Retailers help with rising cost of living
- M&S lowers prices on 60 food items from ‘Remarksable Value’ range
- Sainsbury’s to invest £500 million to help keep prices low
- Asda rolls out Just Essentials line to help with cost-of-living crisis
- Boots freezes prices on 1,000 products
- Resell and recycle
- Space NK introduces beauty packaging recycling scheme
- PrettyLittleThing rolls out Depop-inspired marketplace
- Currys reveals new recycling scheme Cash for Trash
- Figure 17: Currys Cash for Trash initiative, 2022
- Retailers showing support for Ukrainian conflict
- Asda opens up 1,500 roles for Ukrainian refugees
- Aldi looking to hire Ukrainian refugees
- L’Oréal donates 300,000 hygiene products to Ukraine civilians
- Kurt Geiger donates store profits to Ukraine crisis
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Brand Research
- The Body Shop and Boots stand out for ethicality
- Figure 18: Top ranking of retail brands*, by agreement with “ethical”, 2021-22
- Primark still viewed as being more likely to be unethical
- Figure 19: Top ranking of retail brands*, by agreement with “unethical”, 2021-22
- Brand research methodology
- The Body Shop and Boots stand out for ethicality
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Defining Ethical Brands and Retailers
- Consumers look for ethical sourcing
- Figure 20: How consumers define ethical brands/retailers, 2022
- Sustainable packaging key for ethical brands
- Women define ethical as cruelty-free products
- Consumers look for ethical sourcing
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Usage and Awareness of Ethical Certifications
- Fairtrade the most purchased
- Figure 21: Usage and awareness of ethical certifications, 2022
- Vegan products continue to expand beyond food
- Figure 22: Consumers who have purchased products with ethical certifications, by generation, 2022
- Consumers seek transparency from brands
- Fairtrade the most purchased
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Ethical Shopping Behaviours
- Consumers forgoing new clothing purchases
- Figure 23: Ethical shopping behaviours, 2022
- Gen Z are buying second-hand, while Gen X upcycle and repair
- Figure 24: Ethical shopping behaviours, by generation, 2022
- Consumers forgoing new clothing purchases
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Motivations for Shopping Ethically
- Transparency key to motivating consumers to shop with ethical brands
- Figure 25: Motivations for buying from an ethical retailer/brand, 2022
- Locally sourced and manufactured products rank as the highest
- Charitable donations from brands encourage shoppers
- Figure 26: Motivations for buying from an ethical retailer/brand, by gender, 2022
- Transparency key to motivating consumers to shop with ethical brands
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Innovations in Ethical Retailing
- Keen interest in recycling
- Figure 27: Interest in ethical retailing innovations, 2022
- Food waste services show an interest
- Keen interest in recycling
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Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
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