A Life Stripped Bare

VfM4meplse

I bought this from the chazza years ago, and to my shame have only got round to reading it recently. It offers lots of suggestions for change, and importantly made me think about where products are sourced from vs price. (Child slavery is a particular bugbear of mine).

The bottom line is that anything we do that takes us in the right direction contributes to the good in a world that is demanding more and more resource. It's strengthened my resolve to keep buying good quality merchandise from charity shops, keep donating to charity shops, recycle avidly and buy from the greengrocer and fruit stall where possible and turn the TV off (not that I'm an avid watcher).

The big change is committing time to more work voluntarily for charity and the community. I also have a "problem" with a brand new but low-flow shower hose, after reading the book I've decided not to replace it and get by using less water.

The book is well worth a read. I'd be interested in hearing what other OSers do not just to save money but to help the world around us.

thriftwizard

Ok... a long time ago, when I first became aware of child slavery & sweat shops, I took the decision not to buy "fast fashion" or indeed any new clothes, as it's virtually impossible to be sure you're not contributing to the problem. I buy secondhand, or make it myself. I don't always buy from charity shops; charity begins at home and many people like myself, who aren't in a position to work in the formal economy, eke out a sort of living by selling stuff on, or taking things a bit further & creatively "upcycling" things into new, handmade items.

In fact most of the things in my home are secondhand. Occasionally I do have to buy something new, and I try very hard to source things responsibly, within our minuscule budget, but they also have to do the job properly and not need replacing too quickly.

Our garden's quite small, and close to the centre of our small town. Nevertheless, it's fairly productive; we're just about self-sufficient for eggs, have apples in store to see us through till about March, and also grow quinces, hazelnuts, raspberries, figs, blackberries, gooseberries, several varieties of currant, rhubarb, kiwis, hops & lots of different herbs. All shared with a wide variety of wildlife; it's run on permaculture lines, I don't use chemicals, and we're happy to share some of our treats with the birds. There's a pond to encourage beneficial wildlife; hedgehogs, which used to be common, are now sadly a rare sight, but we have lots of frogs & toads, which polish off any slugs the chickens haven't spotted, and we're visited at night by foxes and badgers. Which means I have to be very careful to shut my chickens up properly at dusk; it's my job to keep them safe.

My ethical downfall has to be my "car" - as a trader in "vintage" stuff, I run an elderly van. It's Japanese, 17 years old and only does about 32Mpg of the now-dreaded diesel. But I needed the space, and the ability to sleep in it in comfort when I'm trading at weekend shows, and despite the lack of fuel economy, it's still better to buy a vehicle that already exists, as about 80% of total emissions and embodied energy are in the making of a vehicle, rather than in the running of it. So my answer is to cut down my mileage, and not use a vehicle at all whenever I can run errands on foot.

Off now to buy the bulk of our weekly food from the local market, much of it locally-produced...

lessonlearned

Yes I am deeply saddened by the issues of child labour.generally poor working conditions, etc.

I went to,China in 2002 and saw things that shook me to the core.

I took the decision to think long and hard about where I shopped, how goods were made and the plundering of the earths natural resources, the mountains of waste and the pollution of our environment..

I won't buy fast fashion, cheap jewellery costume jewellery which is usually made by children because they have nice small fingers.......I totally abhor factory farming and the treatment of our livestock. So I try to shop as ethically as I can, making stuff myself if possible.

I do eat meat but I buy it locally from farmers who care for their livestock. I try and support local businesses, craftspeople and tradespeople wherever possible, supporting the the local economy.

I reuse, recycle and keep waste down to a Miniumum. My dustbin is always half empty, my neighbours have bins that always flowing and they often surreptiously "borrow" space in my bin. (They think I don't know :rotfl:)

I used to volunteer in a local charity shop but had to stop for a while. I am Hoping to start again in the NewYear.

I rarely visit my GP, haven't had any hospital treatment in years, pay for my dental and Physio appts. I am a cheap date healthcare wise.

I drive a very small fuel efficient car and my milage was just over 3000 last year. I hate flying so avoid it whenever possible and use the train Instead.

I do have a cat but he's hopeless at catching anything so he isn't decimating the bird population. I don't use pesticides but use organic gardening methods.

My goodness.....im a paragon.....I didn't realise until I started listing.....:rotfl:

seriously I do what I can, I would love to do more. I would love to build an Eco house. Maybe one day.

PasturesNew

You won't change child labour by not buying the stuff.... all that'll happen is that children won't have jobs in those harsh countries and they'll die as there's no money, no benefits.

Change needs to come from their Govts, not whether you buy a cheap T shirt or not.

Now, I don't know about you, but I've not actually got any clout with foreign Govts (or even our own .... ). So trying to change things isn't a job for me.

Rainy-Days

The issue with cheap goods is a finely balanced one! Allot of it is in sweat shops and yes child labour is part of it, but the flip side is that if they don't work they don't get paid and theirs really is the breadline. It can mean a choice of not working that day and not eating. Or working and getting food at the end of it!

I don't condone child labour at all but the important thing is to lobby the stores - like Primark - who have huge investments in places like Bangladesh - to make sure that the employees are given a fair decent wage and that their working conditions are good. If you stop buying those goods then it could mean (in theory) that someone may not work! I would never begrudge paying £1.00 extra on an item if I knew categorically that that £1.00 was going straight to the worker and not the bosses, but sadly that is not the case!

As each country becomes richer - China being a prime example - the Buyers and manufacturers move production to poorer areas of the world. China has had enourmous growth and as a result they have a better standard of living and more disposable income. Now huge amounts of goods being imported are coming from places like Vietnam and Indonesia where labour is still very very cheap. It won't be long before they too will have a better conditions and then it will move to places like Burma! Never thought I would suggest Burma but with the gradual collapse of things there it could become a real possibility!

Goldiegirl

Even if you buy second hand, the garment could still have been originally produced in a sweat shop, so second hand doesn't automatically mean ethical.

FrugalWorker

I struggle so much.

I honestly hand on heart try really really hard to buy/use environmentally and ethically good products. I really don't hit the mark some times. Relative to 90% of people, I guess I'm pretty good, but I know I could do better. I will admit under the veil of anonymity that there are times when I could afford to purchase something better but don't for money saving reasons. It is a constant internal struggle.

I aim to be as much of a minimalist consumer as possible. This one isn't so hard - it's money saving, environmentally / ethically friendly.

I rarely waste food, recycle as much as I can, wear things till they are worn out or if there is use they get donated to charity shops, try to use public transport/walk. My wedding ring was made from old jewelry of my Grannies - more sentimental / environmentally friendly and added bonus of being cheaper. I chose not to have an engagement ring or anything, it just didn't sit right with me mainly for environmental/ethical reasons. I *try* and use as little plastic and what I do use, I aim to re-use as often as possible - but I do still get caught out from time to time. I don't understand why people use so many (in fact any!) paper towels / cling film. I try to buy second hand or make things myself where possible. I use the library. I don't buy 'disposable' clothes - think very cheap flimsy. I'm not saying all my clothes are perfect. I also focus on basics of decent quality.

But I am in the process of selling and moving house. I know why we're doing it, some of the better reasons will be reduced commute, so I should be able to walk to work all the time, hoping for a decent garden and hoping to grow some veggies out back. But I live in a clean fresh apartment, when I look at houses and see dated kitchens / bathrooms. I think oh I can paint / decorate that, I can replace this/ that. I know I am far from perfect and can only aim to make good decisions going forward. Going through this process environmental decisions are absolutely in my mind. But sometimes there is a huge internal dialogue in my head over decisions. So sometimes I just need to take a deep breath and do the best I can.

Finally when giving gifts I really focus on giving an experience, something consumable or something handmade. Giving someone an experience often means spending time with them. Time is more important in many cases. I really focus on this for nieces / nephews - I can't stand chinese (or where ever it came from) plastic !@£$

Thanks OP - I'll look out for the book in the library. You've helped strengthen my resolve again

VfM4meplse

I was hoping this thread would be about sharing the things we are doing to help, however small or insignificant, to motivate OSers to do the same. It wasn't supposed to open a debate about whether we have an influence at a political level to alleviate people's guilt.

Today I had no hesitation in refusing a gift of chocolate Brazil nuts. It's now off my radar, in the same way that meat and fish is. "The Dark Side of Chocolate" and sequel, "Shady Chocolate" are worth seeing. Having a child in a developed nation enjoying chocolate juxtaposed to a trafficked African slave child brought this message home to me. It doesn't matter what policies are in place, it seems as though there are always people along the supply chain willing to sell or exploit the vulnerable. The same goes for diamonds and other mined commodities of value.

On the downside, I stuck some bread in the toaster and decided I didn't want it afterwards. It's very rare for me to waste food but this is one of those occasions.

lessonlearned

Yes agreed.

I try to buy fair trade where i can, including chocolate.. I have just inherited mums jewellery so have all the diamonds I need, bless her.

considering that the popularity of chocolate in the UK is largely down to the great reformers, Fry, Cadburys, Rowntree etc it's truly horrifying isn't it.

FrugalWorker

I was thinking about one of the things I do and lessonslearned about inheriting her Mum's jewelry. It's something others just might not consider or think of so I thought I'd expand on it.

-Gold can be melted down and made in to something else. -Gather up that jewelry that doesn't match, you don't like the style or the single earrings and bring them in to a jeweler that you trust. I know there are cash for gold places, but if your actually looking for a piece of jewelry and have some odd pieces at home, it's worth considering

- I'm sure you can have diamonds fitted in to same jewelry

- You can help to design a piece that you like the style of, this may be quite chunky and modern, or delicate. We made very simple, plain wedding bands. But I'd a friend who made a big, chunky statement ring which she helped design.

- Contributes to local jewelers - I just happened to find an independent one while looking for wedding bands, and during our conversation I'd asked him about re-cycled gold and he was showing me his ring which he'd made from gold he'd melted down.

- In our case, worked out cheaper than buying new.

- Can create an original piece, assuming you're a bit creative with the design element

- No further contribution to the diamond market. Okay, you can't determine where the diamonds that you have in your stash came from - but if they came from a family member, sentimental reasons, I'd view them as a sunk cost.

Disclaimer - I don't judge / comment on others jewelry. I do like to assume that they have all come from ethical sources. I often talk about our rings in the hope it will inspire someone else not to buy new.

I will add, I'm not a big jewelry fan, and just about everything in my box came from a relative. friends / family/ OH would never purchase me jewelry as they know it's just not me. But what I do have I wear, brings me joy and I dearly value.

lessonlearned

I will be doing exactly this with mums jewellery.i shall reuse the diamonds and various stones to create one special piece, the gold will also be reused, recycling whats left to form another piece. I know she would be thrilled. Some of it is broken but it can be smelted down and used again.

As you say reusing precious resources and giving work to a local crafts person.

I do love jewellery - which is why mum wanted me to have hers, however I will not buy new cheap fashion jewellery because I know they use children. Yes I Understand the economics and political wrangling behind it but if you continue "to feed the market" then nothing will change. Manufacturing will just be moved.

I'm sorry but I saw working conditions in China and I refuse to feed that market.

I make my own fashion jewellery, using car boot and charity shop pieces for my raw materials.

Yesterday I bought a beautiful LBD, made by Coast in practically mint condition. £3. Its stunning. very plain, very simple, Perfick.

Obviously I don't know the Reason why its owner parted with it, maybe she couldn't fit Into it. But at least she donated it and it gets to live another day.

I shall take it out on a few outings.......