Green Blog
27 June 2011
A fairer way of doing business
Shopping can be a tricky business. And I'm not just talking 'does my bum look big in this?' worries, but ethical dilemmas about the human and environmental impact of stuff you'd like to buy.
I've fretted over whether a pretty top is so cheap because it was stitched together by a sweatshop worker on abysmal pay. And while I'm grateful for the mysterious metals that make my mobile phone work, I hope mining these didn't mean rainforest was destroyed or communities polluted.
I know books like The Good Shopping Guide can help me figure out the green credentials of products from shampoo to vacuum cleaners. But they don't cover everything I might need.
Researching the origins of products also feels the wrong way round. Rather than me boycotting planet-trashing items, wouldn't it be better if they weren't produced in such a destructive way in the first place?
I'd find shopping a lot easier knowing companies were legally responsible for any harm they cause to people and the environment around the world.
So I was pleased to hear about a new Friends of the Earth Europe campaign for a new law doing exactly that.
Activists are asking the head of the European Commission to make sure EU companies clean up their act.
It's only fair that European businesses operating in far-off developing countries follow the same health and environmental standards they do at home.
I've already signed the petition. If you'd like to help too, you can add your name here.
It might improve your shopping experience, even if it doesn't do anything about the size of your bum.
Melanie Kramers, Communications & Media team
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