£3 clothes £7 a month

What will it ever take to remove the blinkers that we all seem to don when out shopping? Its all well and good to talk about ethical shopping in a lovely middleclass way while we choose our fair trade coffee just after we've filled our trolleys with bananas and oranges that have been reduced to unbelievable prices and just before we pop off to Primark or Matalan for some £3 jeans. We can be really selective in our crusades, can't we? And at the end of the day, if we knew for sure that a product was produced in sweatshops we wouldn't buy it, would we? Just because something's cheap doesn't mean somebody is being exploited. Who are we trying to kid?

We can no longer claim ignorance as a defence for choosing price over moral high ground. We're savvy enough to know that huge supermarkets selling huge amounts of products at tiny prices while making huge profits means that someone is paying somewhere down the line. I live in a rural area where farmers will tell you exactly what they think of the price of milk in the supermarkets. How much worse is it for the fruit producers in third world countries who are already living at the edge?

But things are changing, aren't they? I mean the big companies all have ethical standards, don't they? They're doing their bit for fair trade, no? Hmm. No.Well known brands and stores continue to sqeeze every little bit of profit they can from their suppliers. Its a cut throat business and, let's face it, we like the prices we're getting. Recently the campaign group Labour Behind the Label brought out a report showing that clothes prices have fallen by a third - 33%! Meanwhile in Bangladesh wages have halved - 50%! Suddenly the figures are starting to make a bit more sense. Aparently some workers live off as little as £7 a month where the cost of living is estimated at £30 a month. The figures are beginning to make less sense again.

Meanwhile Asda, Next, Top Shop, Matalan, Primark etc etc are pulling in the money. I wonder how far below the cost of living their exectutives are earning. Isn't it time we made a little more effort? I for one no longer feel so good about my fair trade purchases.