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.