SPENDING on ethical goods and services has almost trebled in the past 10 years, according to The Co-operative Bank’s ethical consumerism report.

The report, a barometer of ethical spending for a decade, analyses ethical sales data for sectors including food, household goods, eco-travel and ethical finance.

It shows that overall the UK ethical market was worth £36bn in 2008 compared to £13.5bn in 1999.

Money in ethical finance has also increased almost threefold, from £5.2bn in 1999 to £14.4bn in 2008, with ethical banking leading the way, closely followed by the increase in ethical investment.

Jeremy Newbegin (pictured), director of independent financial advisory firm Ethical Partnership, which has a number of Guernsey clients on its books, said despite the growth in ethical markets in recent years there was still huge potential out there.

‘I believe that the ethical market has grown, particularly ethical banking, because people are finding out that there are alternative choices available, that people have a natural instinct for fairness, and this desire has been fuelled by the greedy antics of politicians and bankers.’

• Read the full story in the Guernsey Press. See below for subscription details.