Only half of people in South West willing to pay more for sustainable products
But that's more than the national average
Last updated 3rd Nov 2021
As world leaders gather to agree actions on climate change at the Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, a report has found that only half of people in the South West are willing to pay a higher cost for sustainable products.
A customer survey by the Nationwide Building Society found that 45% of people across the UK would be happy to pay more for an item if they knew it was made and delivered sustainably, with people happy to pay on average £11.34 more per item.
In the South West, the percentage of people willing to pay a higher cost for sustainable items is slightly higher, at 47%.
The main types of items listed are clothing, with 54% of people saying they'd be happy to pay more; food (53%), shoes (35%) and beauty products (30%).
Mark Nalder, based in Swindon, is the Head of Payments for the building society. He says he's noticed an increased charity spending between July and September, compared to earlier this year:
"We saw an increase in charity spend in this quarter. That could suggest that people are buying more products like clothing from charity shops."
However the same spending report doesn't clarify if people are in fact turning more to sustainable products:
"The survey suggests people are happy to spend more but we'd need to do more in harnessing data to really understand if they are in fact turning to more sustainable items.
"I don't think the actual spend that we're seeing is suggesting that yet."
In contrast, the survey also found that 74% of people across the UK are increasingly worried about the rises of living costs, with energy (60%), food and drink (40%) and fuel prices (38%) being the biggest concerns. The national insurance rise and the cut to universal credit are also a concern to some.
"Fuel prices compared to six or five months ago are significantly higher. A lot of people haven't travelled for a long time so they're maybe chocked by those increases. The utilities bills as well, we've naturally seen those go up as people work from home."
Meanwhile, one in four people say they are uncomfortable about the state of their finances, with more than a third (36%) saying they will need to dip into their savings.
"Fuel prices aren't looking to come down in the near future. Utilities bills are naturally more expensive in the winter months as people have their electricity and heating on more.
"I think there's a real balance between people really wanting to go out and celebrate, being free and able to visit friends and family for the first time in a while, but having to balance that with the increased rise in costs, and I expect that concern to continue over the coming months as we go through the winter."