Consumers 'will not pay over the odds for the sake of going green'

Although ethical finance is growing markedly in popularity, consumers are not willing to compromise on the quality of a product "just because it’s green", it has been claimed.

While growing environmental awareness is enhancing interest in environmentally friendly products including credit cards and mortgages, consumers would not even consider them should there be a significant difference in cost, according to a spokesperson for the Co-operative Bank.

"The financial services consumer does not want to sacrifice anything in terms of the product just for the green credentials," the spokesperson confirmed.

"People will not pay more - they will not pay more on their mortgage, they will not pay more on their credit cards - they won’t take a lesser product just because it is green."

As a result, the Co-operative Bank has taken care to ensure that its ethical products are comparable in price to its other goods and services - although they also have less of an impact on the environment.

"First and foremost, what we’re trying to do with our products is we make sure they are mainstream products with things on them," the spokesperson furthered.

"They have added on green features as well, and we hope that when people actually decide [which green products to choose] that they see products which have very little difference [in terms of price]."