One of our local fair-trade shops has highlighted another trouble with ethical consumerism. As a response to the giant consumer binge in the US known as black friday, a bunch of folks started a movement called Buy-Nothing day (same day, of course). Traditions (fair-trade) has owners which really support this move towards focusing on things in life with inherent value, instead of consumer goods...but if they actually supported it, or heaven forbid, CLOSED during black Friday, they'd probably go under.
Faced with that, I've decided to seek out the middle ground and consider it a 'buy local' day instead.
Of course, some of the point of all this is that in theory, the ethical places can charge more (for stuff that lasts longer and is replaced less frequently)...but unfortunately, too many of us with ethics are broke...
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One of our local fair-trade shops has highlighted another trouble with ethical consumerism. As a response to the giant consumer binge in the US known as black friday, a bunch of folks started a movement called Buy-Nothing day (same day, of course). Traditions (fair-trade) has owners which really support this move towards focusing on things in life with inherent value, instead of consumer goods...but if they actually supported it, or heaven forbid, CLOSED during black Friday, they'd probably go under.
Faced with that, I've decided to seek out the middle ground and consider it a 'buy local' day instead.
Of course, some of the point of all this is that in theory, the ethical places can charge more (for stuff that lasts longer and is replaced less frequently)...but unfortunately, too many of us with ethics are broke...