What If We All Did Small Things?

As we talked about a couple days ago, there is definitely a difference between “small things” and “big things” in the lifestyle choices that we make. Yesterday, we talked about, on a practical level, what the day in and day out lifestyle of an ethical person might look like. Today, it’s time to contemplate and consider if all those “small things” really do make a difference. We’ll talk about reducing energy, buying sweatshop-free clothing and fair trade coffee.

What if we all reduced our energy consumption (like turning down our heat)? Instead of using 80% of the world’s resources we take only our fair share? Maybe global warming is true and we save ourselves from utter destruction. Maybe it’s not true and we simply take a step down from our high pedestal and join the rest of the world.

What if we all bought sweatshop-free clothing?
If everyone made a small decision to change the brand of clothing they bought from Hanes to say, Alternative Apparel, it would have a huge impact. Yes, it is true that many pocketbooks would be a a bit thinner, but not that much. Almost overnight millions of once sub-living wage, oppressive jobs and corporations would be lost and other just and fair jobs would fill their places. Communities in the third world would begin to thrive off of fair wages rather then suffer under practical slave wages.

What if we all purchased Fair Trade Coffee?
The impact would be similar to that of the clothing industry, lighter pockets in the USA, thriving communities in the rest of the world. And everyone lives happily ever after.

5 thoughts on “What If We All Did Small Things?”

  1. Ariah,
    I’m certainly not advocating forced labor sweat shops, but I’m curious about the effect you envision if we stopped buying Hanes and other major brands. Millions of people would go from having a crappy job to having no job at all. You say they’d get fair wage jobs. Like what? Why can’t they quit the Hanes/Nike/whatever factory and get those same jobs now? Why would employers hire them instead of the many better educated people around the world who are currently unemployed?

  2. Brian,
    Sorry for not giving a clear explanation of that. The thought was that if EVERYONE switched from Hanes to Alternative Apparel, then all the demand that once created the jobs in Hanes factories would suddenly switch to demand and need for supply from Alternative Apparels factories.
    Even simpler, what if we all agreed, from consumer to CEO that Hanes should be sweatshop free and fair trade? What if we ended up paying $5 more per package of under garments, and all that money went to providing better wages and facilities for the workers. Not that it would happen but just a scenario.

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