There's no denying times are tough for all businesses in this time of global economic downturn. The eco warriors are saying it's a good thing - we have to be more conservative when it comes to which buckets we place our pennies in and because we are becoming knowledgeable in ecological and sustainable living issues, we'll choose the right bucket even if it means choosing fewer ones.Well perhaps this is the case. The industry's information source for all things organic market related, Organic Monitor released a report this month that says they expect that growth rates in the global sales of organic food and drink will slow because of the financial crisis but will still continue to grow at a significant rate none the less. Considering sales have been increasing by over US $5 billion a year the predication is not all bad.
The report also indicated that people weren't giving up on organic but rather ‘trading downwards' to by discounted or cheaper organic products. When it came to natural and organic cosmetics sales are increasing by over US $1 billion a year. As a whole we seem to be buying less but more people are converting to the organic, less-of lifestyle.
An interesting point noted was that ‘after experiencing several years of undersupply, ingredient prices are expected to decline in 2009'. Given we stick to our organic guns and support our ethical, fairtrade brands the cost of our chemical free veggies, shirts and face creams may come down yet.
