The rich keep spending, but on ethical products

At a time when most people are tightening their purse strings and bracing against the global credit crunch, the rich are splurging more cash than ever on luxury lifestyles, research has revealed.

Despite a quarter of the most affluent expressing their fears at the downturn in the property market, they are set to spend record amounts on holidays, hobbies and gadgets, annual figures published by American Express show.

But the new Centurion Luxury Living Index, which analyses current and future spending patterns of some of the company's wealthiest customers, also identified an unexpected trend: that more wealthy consumers are turning their backs on brash materialism and instead embracing the joys of the natural world.

In an attempt to recreate their own versions of The Good Life, a high proportion of customers expressed a desire to grow their own vegetables and keep livestock. More than a tenth have already turned their homes into small holdings, and a further third are hoping to adopt greater self-sufficiency in the future.

The Index also revealed growing concerns about the origins of groceries, with two thirds seeing ethically sourced and produced food as "essential". And 83 per cent said that locally produced food was important, followed by organic, which more than three-quarters of high-earners valued.

Chef Heston Blumenthal said that the report revealed how conscience was playing a greater role in food spending. "We used to spend our money showing people how much money we've got; now, we're spending our money on supporting our moral concerns," he said.

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