How to shop ethically in the supermarket

Also see our guide to finding the most ethical supermarket.

75% of people in the UK visit the supermarket twice or more a week. Supermarkets can offer quick, low-cost options if we don’t have the time, cash or local alternatives to hunt out other choices.

But supermarkets are also linked to everything from animal testing to refusing fair pay to farmers.

Vegan and flexitarian supermarket shopping

Cutting down on meat and dairy is one of the biggest ways you can reduce your personal carbon footprint. It can also help you avoid issues associated with factory farming, like the routine mutilation of animals or the cramped conditions they’re very often kept in.

Supermarkets stock many substitutes for meat and dairy. You might want to switch milk for a non-dairy alternative like soya or oat milk, or change butter for a vegan spread.

If you have time, the cheapest and healthiest way of reducing meat and dairy is to cook from scratch using ingredients like beans, tofu and lentils, rather than relying on processed vegan foods. Processed foods also have a higher carbon footprint than cooking a meal from scratch.

You could use lentils rather than mince for a bolognese sauce, or chickpeas rather than chicken in a curry. Our quick guide to cutting down on meat and dairy covers everything from recipes to understanding nutrition.

Own-brand vegan supermarket ranges

All major UK supermarkets have their own vegan ranges. These sell things like plant-based milks and cheeses, vegan ready meals and ice creams, and other useful vegan ingredients like tofu.

The main vegan supermarket ranges are listed below:

• Aldi – Plant Menu
• Asda – Plant Based
• Coop – Gro
• Lidl – Vemondo
• M&S – Plant Kitchen
• Morrisons – Plant Revolution
• Sainsbury’s – Plant Pioneers
• Tesco – Plant Chef
• Waitrose – Plantlife

In 2021, uSwitch compared the number of vegan products in different supermarkets. It found that Asda sold 64 products compared to just 14 from Sainsbury’s, although with the boom in vegan living, the figures for both supermarkets are likely to have grown. (There is also a difference between supermarket own-brand ranges mentioned above, and the full range of items stocked, many of which will be suitable for vegans e.g. dried lentils. Aldi claims it has 700 vegan items currently, with plans to reach 1000 by the end of 2024, and Lidl have also announced a future increase in plant-based products.)

uSwitch also compared protein and salt content. Tesco’s Plant Chef beef style pieces had 30g of protein per 100g – the most of any vegan option and more than the same weight of chicken.

Which supermarket has the best vegan brands?

Supermarkets also sell branded vegan items like Linda McCartney’s meat-free sausages and burgers, Nush vegan cheeses, Alpro plant milks, and Oatly vegan ice cream.

Unfortunately, some vegan brands are owned by unethical companies. For example, Vivera is owned by JBS, the world’s largest meat company. JBS has been linked to massive deforestation in the Amazon and scores just 2.5 out of 20 in Ethical Consumer’s ratings.

You may therefore want to hunt out some more ethical vegan options. Tofoo, for example, is sold in many major supermarkets and receives a much higher score of 16.5. Check out Ethical Consumer’s shopping guides to find a few trustworthy vegan brands to look out for in your supermarket shop.

We checked how many ethical vegan options each supermarket stocked, by searching for our Best Buys for meat-free sausages and burgers, plant-based milks, plant-based spreads like vegan butter and vegan cheese in their online shops. M&S (via Ocado) had the most, followed by Waitrose. Aldi had none.

Ethical labels and certifications to look out for in the supermarket

There are a number of ethical certifications to look out for at the supermarket, which show better treatment of workers, the environment or animals involved.

Our article on food labelling has more information on these and other labels and certification schemes.

Fairtrade

Products like chocolate, sugar, bananas and tea and coffee can all be found fair trade. While there are a number of different labels that claim to show a product has been fairly traded, Fairtrade International’s is the strongest option, and you can find it on a wide range of products.

It shows that workers were fairly treated, and growers were paid a fair price. Fairtrade guarantees a fixed price for produce, which protects growers if markets crash or big buyers try to push prices down. Brands selling Fairtrade have to pay a small premium on top of the sale price, which growers’ cooperatives or estates decide how to spend on social or environmental benefits.

Several of the supermarkets sell some fair trade own-brand products such as own-brand tea and bananas. The Co-op is the UK’s largest retailer of Fairtrade products as well as the world’s largest retailer of Fairtrade wine. All of the bananas it sells and the cocoa in all its products (including baked goods) are Fairtrade, making it easy to know you’re buying ethical options.

Read our article on fair trade and food to find out more about this.

Organic

Buying organic means that the produce or its ingredients were grown without any chemical pesticides or fertilisers. These chemicals are a major driver of biodiversity loss, pollute ecosystems and waterways, and are often made from fossil fuels.

If food is labelled as organic, it has to meet legally binding standards. For cosmetics or other non-food products though, there aren’t the same rules. Look for the Soil Association logo in the UK to find organic options.

Animal welfare certifications

Soil Association Organic is also the strongest option in the UK when it comes to animal welfare for meat, eggs and dairy. It guarantees more space for animals to roam than free range does, and ensures that animals aren’t subject to painful mutilations like having their tails cut or their beaks trimmed.

Unfortunately, free range doesn’t provide the strong assurance we might expect. For example, nine free range chickens can occupy just 1 metre of floor space. That’s like 14 human adults living in a one-room flat. Our shopping guide to eggs and egg alternatives has more information about free range and other terms used for eggs.

Our article on animal rights in the food industry covers a number of certification schemes and labels for fish and animals, including the Red Tractor label which we explain is very weak and not worth looking for.

Leaping Bunny Cruelty-Free

Cosmetics, health and cleaning products sold in supermarkets may be funding animal testing. Although finished products can’t be tested on animals in the UK, lots of companies use animal-tested ingredients or sell in countries where animal testing is allowed or is even mandatory by law (like China).

The Leaping Bunny certification is the strongest label if you want to ensure you are choosing cruelty-free options. However, not all Leaping Bunny products are vegan as they may contain animal ingredients. Read our article about animal testing certification schemes to find out more.

The Vegan Society

Lots of food products are now marked as vegetarian or vegan.

However, it can be much harder to tell if a cosmetic or cleaning product includes animal ingredients. There are a whole host of ingredients that have innocent sounding names but could have been produced from animal products – such as collagen and lanolin.

If a product is marked with the Vegan Society logo, you know that it does not include any of these.

Ethical brands in supermarkets

Supermarkets sell products from popular brands such as Coca Cola, Nestlé and Tetley. Unfortunately, though, lots of well-known brands are linked to environmental and human rights abuses. For example Nestlé has faced a boycott call for over thirty years. The boycott says Nestlé contributes to the unnecessary death and suffering of babies and children around the world by aggressively marketing baby foods in breach of international marketing standards.

By finding more ethical brands, you can make sure some of your money is supporting companies doing something different. For items like chocolate, tea and coffee, there are great ethical options that are available in most supermarkets. We list Best Buy and Recommended companies in each of our shopping guides.

Cafedirect is a Fairtrade coffee brand, which gives 50% of its profits back to an NGO working with producers to improve conditions around the world. The brand is a Best Buy in Ethical Consumer’s shopping guide to coffee, and is available in major supermarkets.

There are also a few ethical brands that produce lots of different items – from beans to spread. If you know their names, it can be an easy way to spot the more ethical option for a wide range of products. Biona and Nairn’s both score 11.5 out of 20 in our ratings. While they don’t do quite as well as some of our Best Buy companies, this is over double the score of any supermarket own-brand goods.

Some supermarkets may have dedicated whole food or organic sections, which are likely to stock more ethical brands. You may also find more ethical options by shopping online than at your local store, which will not stock everything the supermarket can offer.

Supermarket recommendations

Do you have a choice of supermarkets in your area? Here are our supermarket recommendations if you have the luxury of shopping in different stores.

Best supermarket for carbon emissions

Ethical Consumer has rated and ranked 12 supermarkets across a whole range of issues, including their environmental policies and practices.

Many scored poorly for climate impact and actions. The highest scorer in this category was the Co-op. 

Our recommended supermarket for vegan food

If you want a mainstream supermarket with a vegan range and stronger ethics across the board, Co-op is likely to be your best option. See how they compare to other supermarkets in our guide.

All the supermarkets had vegan ranges, including the budget supermarkets. 

The cheapest vegan supermarket

Which? looked at the overall cost of shopping vegan in various supermarket chains in November 2022. It compared the price for a basket of goods needed for a balanced vegetarian or vegan diet. The basket included a number of well-known branded vegetarian and vegan alternatives, such as Quorn pieces and Linda McCartney sausages. It also included ingredients like tinned chickpeas and bags of lentils.

The research found that Asda was the cheapest, and Waitrose the most expensive, with over £5 difference between them, on around a £35 shop. Aldi didn’t have all of the items that Which? searched for, but on a smaller basket of goods was the cheapest of the retailers.

uSwitch also compared the average price of vegan products in each supermarket own-brand range in 2021. It found that Aldi’s Plant Menu was the cheapest, costing £1.43 for the average product. Asda’s Plant Based range was close behind, costing £1.45.

Best supermarket for plastic-free

With plastic polluting the earth’s oceans and ecosystems, more and more people are looking to shop without unnecessary packaging. Lots of supermarkets offer some unpackaged fruit and vegetables, but it’s almost impossible to find everything you might need zero-waste.

You can cut down on plastic waste in your supermarket shop by buying loose fruit and vegetables; taking your own tubs or bags for things from the bakery section or for veg; and by buying large packs. For example, a large packet of crisps has less plastic packaging than lots of individually wrapped items in a multipack.

Greenpeace and the Environmental Investigation Agency have rated supermarkets on their commitment to reducing plastic. Waitrose came out top of the table, followed by Aldi.

Call on supermarkets to change

Across the UK, NGOs and campaign groups are challenging supermarkets on everything from workers’ rights to animal welfare. You can support these campaigns by signing a petition, writing to your local supermarket, or joining a demonstration. We list a few of these campaigns below.

Ethical alternatives to supermarkets

Over the last 30 years, supermarkets have driven low-cost convenience for consumers. Unfortunately, though, this has come at the cost of farmers and workers in supply chains.

Supermarkets have pushed down prices by pressuring suppliers to continually deliver year-on-year reductions. This race to the bottom has led to producers cutting corners, reducing workers’ wages or other rights, or pursuing cheap ways of production at the cost of the environment.

You may want to start doing some or all of your shopping in other places, but it can be hard to know how to start. Here, we give a few options for moving more of your shopping elsewhere, while keeping some of the convenience supermarkets offer.

1. Ethical supermarkets

More and more ‘ethical supermarkets’ are popping up in cities and towns across the UK. Like traditional wholefood shops, they often stock ethical, organic and fair trade brands, as well as zero waste options. But like supermarkets, they are one stop options for everything you might need.

Search online to find an option near you.

2. Veg boxes

Buying a veg box can be a simple way to find predominantly seasonal, often local, and sometimes organic, produce.

Companies like Riverford and Abel & Cole offer delivery across the UK, and are included in our shopping guide to supermarkets. To find a local option, use the Soil Association’s directory, which lists all the organic food delivery box schemes in the UK.

While finding a veg box might take a little while, once it’s set up it can be really convenient. Each week, you’ll just have to accept your delivery or pick it up from a local pickup spot. The box may include some vegetables you’re less familiar with. Kale, jerusalem artichokes and fun kinds of squash are all veg box classics. But almost anything can be roasted in the oven with oil and salt!

Depending on the season, veg boxes can be good value. For some schemes you may pay the same year-round, meaning that at times of UK harvest it can be overflowing with local produce, but in the winter it may be a bit more thin on the ground. Check out how your local scheme operates to see if it would work for you.

Some food box farms also have solidarity initiatives, which allows members to pay on a sliding scale according to their income level. So if you’re on a lower income, you’ll pay less in line with this.

3. Ethical online options

Ordering online can be incredibly useful for many people. There are lots of ethical online options and we now have a guide to these 'eco supermarkets'.

Search online to find other plastic free or wholefood delivery options.