Staying Ethical during hard times
Your house price is falling, your shares are loosing their value, your not sure your savings are safe, fuel and food bills are going up. So can you keep your ethics during the credit crunch? There’s been reports in the papers of organic food sales falling and the possibility of people putting the price of goods before ethical concerns.
We think there are plenty ways you can be green and ethical even when you think you can’t afford to be. The current trend of fast fashion and cheap throw away goods is not sustainable in so many ways. Buying just a few high quality clothes instead of loads of cheap ones means they’ll last longer and probably save you money in the long run. Ebay is a great way to find second hand bargains, how many times have you bought something and never worn it, there are lots of new or nearly new things you can buy. Why not find something in the loft you can sell as well to help pay for your new purchases. Most people can get hand me downs for their children and maybe just buy one or two new things when they need them. Ethical shopping isn’t just about buying organic and fair trade goods it’s about not buying unsustainable products.
The old ‘free range chicken’ debate is a good example, “I can’t afford free range at the moment” , do people really mean this? We can feed our family of four for a good two days with a chicken, thats pretty good value I’d say. Organic food doesn’t have to be expensive, there are always offers on and I bet there’s a farm nearby offering a box scheme, you’ll get fresher better quality food as well. If your good at gardening and you’ve got the space why not grow some vegetables, they’ll be the nicest most rewarding veg you’ve ever had.
So before you think you can’t afford ethical products, just think about what you could buy instead. Our grandparents wouldn’t have wasted so many resources, so why do we?
I agree totally with this post! My current big thing is saving money with a new baby.
Cloth nappies cost more to buy than disposables – true. BUT you need to keep buying disposables!
I use pop-ins which are more expensive than some washables – true. BUT it’s birth to potty. And will last for 5 children if I decide to have 5 (unlikely…!) Like the chicken – more expensive to start with, but in the long run, it makes better sense financially.
I agree too! We buy one organic chicken a week and it can cost up to £10.00 However we can normally make three meals from this chicken and we always boil the chicken at the end and use the stock to make risotto or soup! Don’t forget, if you’re anywhere near the country at this time of year there’s also loads of free food to be had – blackberries, sloes, mushrooms!
My wife is swap-shopping all her old clothes or giving them to friends and buying better quality ones to last longer and she’s also trying to get better at sewing so she can take her clothes in and out herself. I approve as I’m the Financial Advisor!!!