Although these shoes are from a discount-chain-shoestore that shall remain anonymous, I am currently loving them.
Unfortunately, everything I purchase is not guaranteed to be produced ethically. Even though I will go out of my way to buy items that were made with ethics in mind, I still use some items that are made without them on anyone’s conscience. This choice, however, continues to weigh heavily on my own conscience, as I strive to make the best decisions with my tiny budget.
And I know that I am not alone.
What can we do to combat this polarity?
Buying your entire wardrobe from independent crafters/businesses is not possible if your budget won’t allow for the extra cost. But, then again, going to T*rget and buying items with an increasing number of countries tags on them (Made in Vietnam, Made in Laos, Made in Bulgaria, Made in Peru, Made in India and it continues…) troubles me in a different sort of way.
I’ve been trying to come up with a solution regarding this frustration, but in discussing it with friends, see a similar type of frustration on their faces as well.
How can we afford to pay people what they are worth when we are not being paid what we are worth ourselves?
This is a real problem, and one that bothers me as well. I deal with it in various ways, none of them completely satisfactory. I purchase food from our local co-op, that takes pains to provide organic, fair trade, and locally grown options. I try to buy secondhand whenever possible to reuse perfectly good items that might otherwise be discarded. And when I have usable cast-offs, I try to pass them on by donating or selling them. Ethically produced clothing is particularly difficult to find affordably, and I guess that’s one reason why we knit with ethically produced fibers whenever possible. I would love to hear other ideas on what we can do.
it’s not an either/or thing – it just can’t be, not in this world as it is now. if it could, it *still* wouldn’t be fair as then we’d be super-priviliged over the whole rest of the world and that’s not right. do what you can – and be aware and vocal about it.
the shoes are awfully cute. ;)
cute shoes! ugly guilt! I totally agree with your post and I have been finding myself struggling with this question even more since I moved to a fairly remote southern town. The area is controlled by Wal-mart, has NO co-op and limited thrifing. I still get a lot of my clothing from thrift stores and ebay but those good things get negated when I usually end up going to walmart about once a week for items that we cannot get else where. I don’t know the solution, but a good first step is just being aware of your surroundings and situations, communicating and conceiving of solutions and not just blindly consuming. Not immediately satisfying, but being aware is the start of the battle, I suppose.
My solution to this problem is to continue to wear clothes I bought in 8th or 9th grade!But seriously, as a college student it would be most practical (budget -wise) to shop at Old Navy to get basic tshirts and stuff but I feel guilty wearing clothes made by a 3 year old a gazillion miles away. There is an American Apparal store here but to be honest, the clothes are pretty ugly and pretty $$. Thrifting is more fun and you get a lot more cool and unique stuff but it’s not really a good choice for someone who just needs basics. I would love to buy all the sweatshop free hemp natural no bleach elephant/dolphin/kitten safe clothes but the $ factor kind of makes it pointless!
I’ve just discovered this site and it chimes so many bells with me. In my younger days I went on protest marches and rallies and carried banners and chanted chants. Now I have three young kids and I don’t seem to do that stuff anymore. It’s not that I no longer care about the same things – believe me, having kids has made me care even more. But nowadays I am more likely to make a sturdy shopping bag out of all the plastic carrier bags in the cupboard cut into strips and knit together, or crochet an afghan out of lots of leftover yarn from my late mother’s stash and give it to my father as a Christmas gift. Things like that. Currently I am braiding a rag rug out of all my old maternity dresses (boy does that ever provide closure!)
What would have happened if I *hadn’t* gone on all those protest marches back then? Nothing much. Everyone else would still have showed up – 30,000 people minus me is still lots of people. But if I hadn’t made that afghan for my dad, I never would have got to see the glistening in his eyes on Christmas day, and the tears in my own eyes when I visit him and see it folded over the arm of his favourite chair, obviously much used.
I never had a name for this before, or for the quilts I made for my kids which I tuck round them extra tight every time I hear another mother’s son or daughter has been killed by a suicide bomb, or the cookies we bake together from scratch because I want them to understand where food comes from (and also they taste good), or all the things I repair around the home not because I can’t afford to replace them but because … because … well just because I *prefer* to. And now I do have a name for it. Craftivism. Thank you.
*le sigh* I will always struggle with this one! “Sustainability” is at the forefront of my mind right now and it’s almost impossible to reconcile reality with the vision that so many of us have for the world. A friend of mine brought up an interesting point: what’s the difference if you buy fair-trade vs. not, if you drive in your foreign car using foreign oil wearing sweatshop clothes etc etc etc… I mean, at what point do you just surrender? There are just too many choices to make but not enough options that add up to “sustainable AND affordable.” He also called me a “pretentious prick” so I think I had just made him mad.
I definitely believe in using/buying less, reusing/thrifting, sharing and all that. It is still discouraging to see so many folks who simply aren’t aware or don’t care.
melanie…you are awesome. beautiful reply.
yes, nice shoes.