(Cristina Sacco - Glasgow, Scotland) This week I have seen a couple of dubious statements made in what claims to be an ethical consumer magazine. It promoted the hand-knit items of two companies as examples of more ethical shopping choices. One company is well-known and has Fair Trade credentials. The other one is selling a hand-knit cabled cardigan for £45. Hypothetically, let's say each cardigan costs the company £25, and of that, the company pays for the processing, the yarn, and the labor involved in hand-knitting a cabled cardigan.
Here's where I have to confess that I am a knitter and I know how long it takes to knit an adult-sized cabled cardigan.
Even at wholesale prices, the yarn is a significant cost, so I have difficulty believing that the people knitting these sweaters are working under good conditions, being paid a fair wage. To be fair, the error here is in the magazine, the manufacturer makes no claims of ethical production, the magazine does. If being hand-made is promoted as an ethical attribute of a product (whether by the manufacturer or by a magazine), think twice about the labor involved and check to see if the manufacturer has Fair Trade credentials. Or, if all else fails, learn to knit or crochet your own cardigans, but I will write more on that subject another time.
Ok, I have an addendum this week, so that I don't get renamed "The Skeptical Shopper":
Since Ari mentioned disposable tissues in her latest Green Revelation post (Waste Not Want Not), I thought it was a good time to reveal my little-known affection for the handkerchief. Of my small handkerchief collection, my favorite is by Sukie. Sukie hankies are 100% cotton (not organic), printed in the UK, are easy to wash by hand in the sink, and dry very quickly. They are also beautiful and soft, and make having a cold just a little bit more tolerable.
