Britons tired of green issues news

Many Britons are suffering from "eco-fatigue", with more than a quarter tired of the attention green issues are receiving, according to a new survey.

An ICM report for the Ideal Home Show also found nearly a quarter of people (23%) admitted they were bored of "eco news" and nearly a fifth (18%) exaggerated their environmental behaviour because it is fashionable.

While more than half (57%) believed a difference could be made to the environment if everyone did their bit, nearly four fifths of those questioned (78%) think not everybody is making the effort.

But people rated their own green performance quite highly, with 83% saying they acted in an environmentally friendly way, the research found.

Men are more cynical about the difference they can make, with nearly a fifth (19%) believing small changes won't have any effect, compared to 11% of women, the survey of 2,000 UK adults revealed.

As a result, women were more likely to make the changes round the house to be more green - except for eco-friendly detergents which slightly more men than women use.

Overall, 80% of respondents said they used energy-saving light bulbs, 90% filled the kettle with the right amount of water, 83% recycled paper, glass and plastic and 82% took old clothes to charity shops.

But three quarters did not use eco-friendly detergents, 81% did not check wooden items were from sustainable sources, nearly half (44%) tended to turn up the heating instead of putting on more clothes, 22% left mobile phone chargers plugged in and 32% left the TV on standby.

There was also cynicism about green energy suppliers and almost half (48%) of those questioned did not know what the energy performance certificate for homes was.

Oliver Heath, of the Ideal Home Show, said: "People should have more confidence in the measures we're all making."

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