Fair trade, Fair Wear, Sweatshop Free and Dolphin Safe. They’re just a few of the buzz words that have helped make a simple trip to the shops an ethical minefield.
There’s no escaping the fact we are becoming more astute as consumers, and that ethical purchasing is high on the agenda for many.
But being an ethical consumer means more than just sipping on a cup of fair trade coffee while you relax between Christmas shopping sprees at your local Oxfam shop.
It’s about making choices: and not just choices about what to buy. Sometimes it’s about making the choice not to buy.
So what exactly does being an ethical consumer involve?
Deciding not to buy before deciding what to buy
The massive rise in the number of ethical labels and brands has given consumers real options when it comes to buying ethical products. But the flipside is that we are now less likely to take a step back and ask, “Do I really need this in the first place?”
Even the most ethically sound products impact the environment in their production, and ethical products should not be an excuse for hedonism and rampant consumerism to take over.
The world’s major religions warn against the disproportionate accumulation of wealth and resources because this often comes at the expense of the most marginalised and oppressed.
When we see people go hungry at the expense of others who are overfed, where we see the powerless continually undermined and exploited, when we see greed and exploitation of natural resources, as consumers it might be time to ask seriously what things are important, what things we can live without and what else we might be able to do with the money we are about to spend.
Positive buying
So, after thinking long and hard, you’ve decided you can’t live without that shiny new whatever you’ve been eyeing off for weeks.
A good place to start finding out the best products to support and companies to avoid is the ethical consumer website www.ethicalconsumer.org. Established in 1989 by a not-for-profit research cooperative, Ethical Consumer promotes universal human rights, environmental sustainability and animal welfare through ethical purchasing.
But while standards and labels like the FairTrade mark and websites like FairWear and Ethical give consumers guidance on what to buy and what not to buy, when it comes to being ethical sometimes there’s no label to help you out.
So what are some of the things to consider when buying these unlabeled products?
• Is the product exploiting people? Consider if people have been paid a fair price in decent working conditions or if child labour may have been used.
• Is it made in a country that needs this industry?
• Does it exploit the earth? For example, some products use timber from an unsustainable source, or have unnecessary amounts of packaging.
• Does it contain a species that are endangered? Or have animals been harmed unnecessarily?
At the end of the day, it’s about making informed choices. So, take a little time to do some research, find out what brands exploit children, abuse human rights, conduct testing on animals or harm our environment. Even small choices can have a big impact on someone else’s life.
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