Shoppers are more interested in buying local products than fair trade or organic, according to a survey carried out by IGD and Nielsen.

The study into the shopping habits of more than 5,000 shoppers found 57% actively tried to buy locally sourced food - up 19% since February, when the last poll took place. In comparison, 33% of shoppers actively tried to buy fair trade (up 14%) and 17% opted for organic products (up 6%).

"The appeal of local products is higher than any other ethical alternative and these are rapidly gaining popularity," said Gerardine Padbury, senior consumer analyst at IGD. "Consumers are responding in a positive way to many of them."

The findings came as Asda unveiled plans to ditch big brands in favour of local or regional brands where the latter were performing better (The Grocer, 22 September, p4). It has already sent a warning to Walkers after the brand was outperformed by Seabrook Crisps in the Yorkshire area.

Local sourcing has become a key competitive issue, said Louise Boitoult, business insight director of Nielsen. "Some 47% of shoppers would change where they shopped if another store sold more local lines."

The number of shoppers choosing products with minimal or no packaging has also shot up 22% to 55% - making it the second most popular ethical choice actively sought out by consumers.

"The steep rise in the number of shoppers buying products with little or no packaging shows how high up the consumer agenda environmental issues have become," said Padbury.

Other ethical types of products consumers actively try to buy include those that are energy-efficient (48%), come in recyclable packaging (44%) and are not tested on animals (43%). More respondents said they tried to buy ethically grown (21%) and farmers market produce (26%) than organic.