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Ethical Consumption, Talk about the good work of consumers who make choices based on the sustainability of supply chains, along with the companies that respond to these ethical demands. | 26065 Followers  |
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What does it mean to be an ethical consumer?
Ruchira Shah | Wednesday 28th January 2009
 What does it mean to be an ethical consumer? Depending on whom you ask, you'll get a different answer. Some would argue that an ethical consumer would refrain from buying anything from China. Another would suggest that the ethical consumer should only buy eco-friendly products, or local products, or refrain from buying things made of plastic. Others still would argue that the ethical thing to do is to refrain from buying at all.I spent twelve months pondering this question as I undertook an experiment in non-consumerism. For one year, I refrained from buying any new durable goods. No new clothes, no new books, no new gadgets, nothing. Instead I spent my money on charities, on dinners out with friends, on plays, on indie rock concerts. As the year progressed, I became more and more convinced that things don't make people as happy as experiences. But, I also found that my ethical notions were continuously challenged. What about the person in China who depends on my buying a new plastic umbrella? Or the woman in Bangladesh who can now afford to send her children to school because she has work in a garment factory. What are their prospects in a world with less "stuff?" And if I purport to be an ethical consumer, how do I deal with this tension between poor people's livelihoods and environmental sustainability? I still don't know what it means to be a truly ethical consumer. But I do know this: being an ethical consumer requires adopting a nuanced, flexible view of the world in which we live. Because the truth is, the world we live in is not a world of blacks and whites, but one of complexities. I'll be posting here on these complexities, and I invite you all to join me for the ride. |
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Henry Swanson 5 March 2009 Books are an experience.
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Daniel Brielmann 4 February 2009 We need ethical businesses that make ethical products. We need scientist and inventors who create products we need sustainably. What a world of opportunity awaits the ethical thinkers.
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About the Author
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Ruchira Shah Is blogging |
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