Don't Buy

Most of us want to do the right thing when it comes to consumption. We want to buy fair trade coffee and chocolate, products that have not been tested on animals or products that are free of genetic modification. Ultimately we want to do no harm. Or as little harm as possible.

But it might be worth looking deeper into our purchasing decisions to ensure our actions are actually ethical. Are, for example, buying second hand goods, being vegetarian or vegan serious alternatives for those of us who want to be ethical consumers? How fair is ‘fair trade’?

It is, of course, not possible to research the merit of every decision or every ethical alternative. Over-consumption is at the heart of the problem leading to environmental damage, climate change, injustice and poverty, to name but a few. Perhaps the best way to reduce over-consumption and its negative consequences is not to buy at all.