Eighty per cent of consumers say that they are not given enough environmental information to make informed choices about electrical products.

The latest in a monthly series of surveys for The Times by Populus, charting consumers’ social and environmental attitudes, finds that while many want to make ethical choices, they are frustrated by a lack of information.

The findings follow growing calls from across the political spectrum to make consumer electricals more environmentally friendly. Despite proposed measures such as banning standby buttons and forcing manufacturers to print carbon footprints on their packaging, the survey shows that an information gap is driving a wedge between consumers’ intentions and their actions. Electrical goods are on the frontline in the battle against carbon emissions, according to campaigners. While it is estimated that household appliances become on average 2 per cent more energy efficient every year, the fall has been more than offset by the soaring number of electrical items in homes.

The Energy Saving Trust says that the average number of electrical goods in British households has risen from 17 in the 1970s to 42 now. Appliances on standby comprise 8 per cent of Britain’s domestic consumption of electricity. A ban on standby buttons was mooted in a recent Conservative Party policy review and had been suggested already by Gordon Brown.

The difference between the information that consumers would like and the data that they are given is symptomatic of a communication breakdown, the survey suggests.

When asked what they would most like electrical goods companies to focus on, respondents said ensuring that all components of their products are recycled at the end of their life. The European waste electronic and electrical equipment directive obliges the industry to deal with waste and recycling.

The vast majority (97 per cent) of concerned consumers also want information on how much power a product uses. Almost the same number (96 per cent) want to see information on recycling.

Populus said that the results showed that consumers want to “do their bit” as individuals, as well as demanding that companies make a contribution. The information vacuum faced by consumers hoping to make an ethical choice of electrical goods is reflected in their assessment of how effectively leading companies are addressing social and environmental issues, the pollsters say.

“Where consumers do not have the information they need to have an informed impression, they always tend to fall back on heritage and brand trust,” Giles Gibbons, managing director of Good Business, a corporate responsibility consultancy, said. “This is unsurprising. It does present an opportunity for companies that might be newer or have a less well-established brand. If they actually take the issues seriously and give concerned consumers the info they need to know, they can leapfrog above their competitors.”

Respondents said that Sony, Philips and Apple were models of environmental probity and social responsibility. Nintendo, Hitachi and Samsung finished at the foot of the table for both.

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