Sustainability vs economy: greenwash or brainwash?

So green is the new black, even Argos are advertising environmentally friendly products such as recycling bins and rotary clothes lines. But I’m not so sure that anything has actually changed. Some retailers have made a real half hearted effort at looking sustainable. Despite Argos’s double page spread of green products they still sell patio heaters and their products are shipped from the other side of the world. Woolworths aren’t even bothering to try and are going with the economy instead: as prices on everything else are going up, woollies are selling kids clothes from 70p. The irony of getting an Asian man to advertise clothes made in Asia isn’t lost on me. But the fact remain that if they can afford to sell t-shirts for 70p then someone along the line is missing out. As things go from bad to worse in the UK economy its likely that more people will be making decisions based on price rather than sustainability or humanitarian issues. Reports show that sales of sewing machines are increasing and more and more people are learning how to make meals out of leftovers. Maybe we’re entering a new phase of economising where consumers are actually consuming less and making do with what they have rather than just replacing it with cheap items made by underpaid workers in developing countries. We can only hope.

Swings and roundabouts: why some things just have to be done the unethical way

It may sounds a little harsh but sometimes you have to do things the unethical way. I’m not talking about anything big like human rights or killing animals, but the little things. I’m all for being ethical where you can but the whole point of my ethical crusade is doing things that aren’t going to impact on the way I lead my life but make a huge change in my world view. For instance, it’s been 7 months since I started my ethical shopping and not many people know that I refuse to buy things in chain stores. OK, I haven’t actually been out shopping with anyone in that time but I’m not wearing rags or anything. I’ve been doing really well with buying things from charity shops and small local stores and it’s even changed the way I buy food. I’m buying local, organic and fair trade food as much as I can now, despite the higher prices. But there are some things I have discovered I can’t live without. For example, finding shoes that fit in second hand shops isn’t very practical and small local shoe shops seem to be fairly rare. Also CDs and DVDs (although not essential are great stress relief when you’re a busy racing rat) are hard to find. I have bought some great finds from charity shops though. And finding a pair of black trousers if just impossible! But overall, I’m pleased with myself. My frivolous spending is totally under control and limited to charity shops only.

So imagine my confusion when I read this article in the developments magazine saying that avoiding products from far flung places could have a negative impact on the people in developing countries. Even if a product isn’t fair trade it doesn’t necessarily mean that the product is taking advantage of people. The trouble is; we consumers can only make decisions with the information that is available to us. Until someone develops a food labelling system that takes into account the people, the environment and the distance the product has travelled and this labelling system is rolled out to every product available, then we can only do our best. We just have to read the labels, judge the packaging, the distance and hope we’re making the right decision.