Just 6% of Irish shoppers polled say ethical factors ‘crucial’

How committed are Irish people to shopping with a conscience and how important are ethical and environmental considerations when people are deciding how and where to shop?

We polled Twitter users last week and, unsurprisingly, people lean towards shopping better but there are few people who are genuinely committed to it.

After 12 hours just under 1,000 people had taken part in our poll, with just over 6 per cent saying ethical and environmental concerns were “crucial” to their purchasing decisions. Almost 14 per cent said it was “all about the price” and everything else would have to take a back seat.

Just under 60 per cent said they tried to do their best when it came to making ethically-based decisions, while just over 20 per cent said such concerns play “a small part” in how they shop.

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Here are some of the views expressed.

“Always try to buy Irish/local if I can & scrutinize labels. Often pay a bit more to get the Irish/local product. Usually do grocery shop in SuperValu or Dunnes. Use local bookshop & buy Irish authors if buying for the kids. There are loads of FAB online sites for Irish shops.” – Mary Felton

“I try to shop as much as I can with small Irish suppliers and producers BUT so many of them don’t return calls or bother responding to emails.

“Jeff Bezos always responds and is never too busy to take my money. Irish companies really need to up their game.” – Herman Shanks

“I will never buy pasta or mayonnaise or coleslaw unless the label clearly says the eggs used in it are free-range.” – Miller Jackson

“If there was a supermarket which sold products without ridiculous packaging, I’d definitely shop there.” – Fiona Whelan