As ethical consumers aren't we lucky that we have so many kinds of ethics to choose to support as we do our shopping?!

If you're like me, then it doesn't often feel easy or obvious as to which is the right choice. Trying to support different ways of being green and more ethical can tie you in knots and leave you with contradictions that you have to explain away. Organic, Fairtrade, air miles, less packaging, local shops and producers - let me know if you have a favourite product that ticks all these boxes.

Unsure of what every other ethical consumer is doing? Well thanks to a recent report by IGD and Nielsen "Britains Ethical Shopper, Which Way Now?" we now know.

Topping the charts in this report is buying local produce. Not only has buying locally come out top, but it also pleasing to know that it is also rapidly gaining in popularity. Back in February of this year 48% of those surveyed said they actively looked for local produce. This figure then went up to 57% by July. Coming in second was looking for products with minimal or not packaging. The biggest rise came from energy effecient products - in February they were at 27% and rose dramatically to 48% in July.

The report findings are significant in themselves, particuarly as you look through the whole list. I have to say I am surprised to find Fairtrade at mid point and organic products down at the bottom. Maybe our recent public interest and concerns over climate change help make sense of the rankings.

For me, this focus on buying local is really interesting if you then have a look at another recent report from Forum For The Future entitled "Retail Futures". This is their published research findings into how we will all be shopping in 15 years time.

The report looked at what we buy, how we buy and who we will buy from & looks at contributing factors such as climate change, oil prices, new technology, globalisation and demographic changes. Whilst the results predict a high street that looks very different today, the key underlying trend seems to be the increasing significance of the local and direct buying aspect of our weekly shop.

The ideas put forward are wide ranging - the idea of Tesco silver outlets - selling specifically to target markets such as the baby boomers - we could be buying our utility products such as toilet paper and cleaners online - check out queues could be a thing of the past as bar codes are read as the products drop into the trolleys. Some scenarioas are dominated by the big retailers - one stop market villages with branded stores and services - Boots GP surgeries and shampoo branded hair salons. Our fridges maybe linked directly to supermarkets and by using information on our age, health, income etc they would become our diet managers.

Thankfully not all the scenarios are so dominated by big business - the going green option shows great visioning. We could be using google to buy from the most local source, there would be more community food clubs, lots more allotments, market gardens and local farms where consumers can own shares in the farm. Swapping and goods exchange use the potential of online and mass marketing is almost extinct as its word of mouth is the key, through social network websites.

The idea of Tesco villages, intelligent fridges & branded GP surgeries could seem strangely alien to the way things are today but I think it's not that difficult to see that the seeds of these ideas are already sown. The key will be how we proceed from here and how we use the knowlege and technology that we have now to create a future that we want.

For me, to have 'buying local produce' high up in the actions of ethical shopping shows some hope for the future. If we make buying local produce a strong part of our shopping choices today, then surely this will ensure that it is a key factor in the future. It's a difficult job predicting the future, particularly when techology is moving us along at a fast pace. But with a few hints of what has potential then at least we can make a start at choosing what we want. I certainly don't want my diet managed by a large retailer, and although an intelligent fridge sounds slightly appealing, I hope I will always want to be the judge of when and what I buy.

here are a few things to have a look at:

Our great writer Morag has been talking to the Soil Association about the work they are doing on local and organic

a free download from IGD on the ethical shoppers report - click this way!

a free download of Forum for the Future's Retail Future report

ciao

sam

do you have firm views on buying local? we'd love to hear from you - just email any time