Ethical Shopping Decisions

"Shop wisely from ethical sources, and only buy what you need. Recycle, renovate and repair" 
Many goods made for the Western market are made using poorly paid staff from poor countries with bad human rights records. We must consider paying a little more for the purchased item in order to give a reasonable wage. In the past, children in India were paid in pennies, some as young as seven years old. They were tied to carpet looms to stop them from running away! When you can, buy Fair Trade Products that give producers a living wage. You might want to complain to the shop owner if goods are wrongly labelled, such as many real fur products which are labeled as fake fur because real fur is cheaper than fake fur! You can write to trade magazines also with your preferences and concerns and also tell your MP who might be able to assist with new legislation.

So, buy products that have low carbon emissions to produce, transport and recycle. When buying clothes, cotton takes a huge amount of water that takes water from other species. Wool requires the breeding of sheep that require being looked after. Some fibres have microbeads that are getting into the food chain, especially polluting our seas and sea creatures. Leather requires breeding of animals for this purpose, and many animals are not kept in good conditions or even killed kindly. Some dogs in Korea for instance are skinned alive in the belief that the more the dog suffers, the better it tastes on the plate! Always buy local, buy fresh food in season, avoid fresh flowers and out if season products that are flown in by air. Consider ethical financial services that avoid investing in tobacco, armaments, logging, mining, Coca Cola, etc. Avoid soya and palm oil that destroy precious territory of endangered species. Buy from sustainable sources. 

If a country has a poor human rights record, and also abuses animals in circuses, zoos, for tourism or for business purposes, you can boycott this country's exports and take your holidays where animals are treated with kindness and where endangered species are protected against hunting or abuse. There are many national parks across the world that focus on protecting nature and caring for wildlife. If you buy an expensive product with a logo, you are paying for prestige only, not for quality or for ethical production. Often celebrities are paid to advertise a particular brand, and by endorsing the product, people who are impressed with wealth and publicity, will buy the logo. However, discerning shoppers will care about how the product was made, will buy without a logo and give the extra to charity! If you don't want to pay over the odds, and want value for money, research and buy direct from manufacturer or producer. This is especially important hen buying from small traders abroad. 

Perhaps the most unethical industry is the cocaine market which is a Mafiosa type international organisation. Poor land owners in South America are bullied into growing the cocaine poppy and then mixing it with highly toxic and dangerous substances. Transporters are often vulnerable people and when caught will suffer many years in prison. Sometimes, animals are used to transport the drugs, filling their bodies until they are over the border when they are cut up whilst alive and the drugs removed. Pushers often target people who they give drugs to at first, then demand the money. The drug addicts are desperate people, sometimes prepared to kill to get their fix. 
Article by Wendy Stokes



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