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Two-thirds of consumers want retailers to remove environmentally
damaging goods from their shelves, according to research just
released.
The report - 'Check-out Carbon' - was published by
sustainable development charity Forum
for the Future and found that over three-quarters
of consumers want the UK government to set higher eco product
standards, effectively banning environmentally harmful goods.
The survey of 1,000 consumers also revealed that 85 per cent
of respondents want more information about the environmental
impact of products.
Forum for the Future argued that shoppers want to
use their spending power to tackle climate change, but can
only do so with clear information on which products they should
buy to limit their environmental impact. "Labels showing
energy ratings on white goods and cars have shown how labelling
can drive behaviour - both in business and among customers"
- said Dan Crossley, lead author of the report.
Other steps proposed in the report for retailers, manufacturers
and governments include -
- providing more information on recycling;
- removing high-carbon goods from sale - and
- providing information on a product's carbon footprint.
Speaking at the research launch, Katherine Symonds, sustainability
manager at Tesco said that customers were ready for such initiatives,
claiming that two-thirds of Tesco customers understand what
a carbon footprint is, while 80 per cent say they think about
the environmental impact of the goods they buy.
Tesco is undertaking a pilot scheme with the Carbon Trust
that has seen carbon labels introduced on a number of product
lines (Click
Here). Symonds said that the company was committed
to introducing more carbon labels, adding that - "as
consumer carbon literacy increases, we will be able to go
further."
To download the report - 'Check-out Carbon' - Click
Here
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