Good things

My new folding bike, Wol (it's a Birdy...) rocks!

Better still, I started volunteering with Oxfam Cymru yesterday. It immediately became obvious that almost the only the way to get a job with Oxfam is to volunteer with them first. I read this thusly: They get so many applications from so many stellar people, that only by "putting your money where your mouth is" and getting stuck in to their work unpaid can you prove yourself to be sufficiently committed.

I will also carry on doing a bit of work for Friends of the Earth Cymru, as all of this seems to be the best way to keep myself sane whilst house and job hunting.

Onwards and upwards!

Be an ethical consumer?

Even when the chain of reasoning and evidence is complicated, the conclusions or consequences can be clear and simple...

(OK, so Oxfam are having a Make Trade Fair campaign, so it isn't completely surprising that I'm thinking about these things :-)

Do you feel outraged yet powerless about the crises of the world - the 1 billion people who are illiterate, the 125 million children who aren't getting even primary education and so are set to join them, the 82 million of those children who are girls; about the quarter of all people killed in wars and armed conflicts who are children; about the billion people who live on less that USA$1 per day?

Did you know... "that every time you buy something made or grown in a developing country, youmay be taking part in a billion pound scam? As it works today, the global trading system rips off people who are already poor. You don't want it. They certainly don't want it. Together,we can change it."

There is one power that you definitely have, even in these days of political apathy:spending power. Every time you get out your wallet, you are effectively making a statement to the world around you about your ethical beliefs, your priorities and your concerns. More than that, by changing your spending patterns in concert with other concerned consumers, you can influence the people with the power to free people from the slavery of poverty, war and ignorance. A simple example: Choosing to buy commoditie ssuch as coffee and chocolate which have the Fairtrade logo can make a real difference: whether or not the farmers can afford medicines and education for their children. Sometimes, the connection really is that direct.

Think before you buy: Do I really need this thing at all? Has it been produced in ways that I would consider ethical? Am I being duped by misinformation into taking part in acts which I would normally completely abhor?

(I don't agree with all their conclusions, but a very useful source of information in the UK is the Ethical Consumer Magazine.)

[Note for geeks: LJ spell-checker offers for Fairtrade, FORTRAN; for Oxfam, Orgasm...]