Buy Local. Thinking Small.

The idea of “buying local” whenever possible is often thought of as a core tenet of ethical shopping. Proponents of this strategy accept that trade is an essential and potentially beneficial part of life, but claim that it'll be more of a force for good if trading networks are local, creating accountability ( people are less likely to rip off or exploit their neighbours) and collaboration (everyone sharing the goal of furthering the wellbeing of the community). On an international scale, they argue, vast distances and powerful financial interests come between the parties engaged in the “real” exchange- the producers and the consumers- and wealthy countries and companies have the political and economic clout to determine the terms of trade. Hence poor-country workers end up with little for their efforts except bad pay, appalling working conditions and exported natural resources.

Furthermore, localizers point out, global trade is inherently eco-unfriendly, both directly- as it relies on the burning of a vast quantity of transport fuel, contributing to climate change – and indirectly, since it separates consumers from the mess their goods are making, removing any pressure on them to act accordingly. The environmental impact is compounded by the fact that world trade is inherently tied up with a corporate-driven consumerism which encourages us all to buy and use as much as possible. And…there's the question of food security: our long-term ability to feed ourselves. As we become ever more reliant on transporting food from abroad, the oil that facilitates that transport gets closer to being exhausted.

For all these reasons, the argument goes, as well as numerous others, the best way forward is a new era of “localization”, which shoppers can help realize by favouring local goods and services wherever possible. Obviously there will always be some national trade (it wouldn't make sense for every town to make its own buses, say) and some international trade (not every country has the minerals and metals necessary to make busses, nor the climate to grow coffee). But whenever home-produced is available- in agriculture, clothes production, or whatever- that's what ethical shoppers are to go for.

Overall, localization might mean that we'd end up producing and consuming less, the argument continues, but that's not a bad thing, since, as we've already seen, the world simply cannot sustain the West's ever-rising current consumption levels. Moreover, our food would be fresher; local engagement with politics and environmental problems would be stimulated; perhaps we'd even be happier. Poor countries would in theory also benefit: no longer reliant on cash-crop and manufacturing exports, they'd be able to grow their own food, protecting their environments, shape their own development and benefit from processing and using their own natural resources.

Rough Guide to Ethical Shopping.