Comments on: Ethical Shopping Is Still Shopping (But Ethically)

By: Vincennes

Vincennes — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 09:54:10 +0000

@princessjasmine It’s ethletic.dk. I totally endorse this product! They are very comfortable as well as all of the people/planet credentials.

By: princessjasmine

princessjasmine — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 20:37:49 +0000

Alexandra, what is this Danish company? I’ve bought a few pairs of shoes from Bourgeois Boheme in the past, but they seem to have gone downhill recently.

By: sintaxis

sintaxis — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 20:04:41 +0000

@Michelle Hahaha, yes, well, I’m not saying that it’s the baseline for being a good person, but if we’re going to have a conversation about “ethical consumerism” then you actually have to talk about capitalism. I think you misinterpret the critique of consumerism with an ethical mandate for personal action, which of course, is myopic.

By: sunflowernut

sunflowernut — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 19:03:03 +0000

I have tried to go this route but have found that on my budget (and with my willpower), it’s just as hard as going vegan. Which is to say, too difficult to do for more than a week. But I do think doing some is better than nothing – making any sort of purchase with an ethical business is always a positive thing.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 18:33:20 +0000

@sintaxis “Opting out of capitalism” is a pretty high benchmark for ethical practice.

By: sintaxis

sintaxis — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 17:48:58 +0000

@Michelle I guess that depends on two things: if you believe that choosing something that’s less ethical than your other options is still a valid choice (i.e. she could use that discretionary money in other ways) and if you believe that capitalism isn’t inherently unethical.

By: Jake Reinhardt

Jake Reinhardt — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 17:47:07 +0000

@guenna77 I think ethics are personal. My personal ethics have no problem with unlicensed knockoffs from companies that use questionable labor/environmental practices. In fact, I fully support that.

By: guenna77

guenna77 — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 17:25:24 +0000

@Theda Baranowski if that’s the case, then that is actually pretty cool. i withdraw any objections!

By: Theda Baranowski

Theda Baranowski — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 17:16:37 +0000

@guenna77 I think in the case of the Vivienne Westwoods, they’re not knockoffs. They’re just made ethically, but are produced by the designer’s firm.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 16:53:45 +0000

@sintaxis One could argue that spending your discretionary income supporting local businesses is with ethical practices is ethical by proxy.