Shopping to Last

This article in the Guardian articulates the difficulty many shoppers have when buying products, particularly gifts and clothing, in a world which has become increasingly throw-away. The temptation of a low price tag is hard to ignore, but perhaps in these austere times, we should start to think more about the legacy of our purchases. Who has made the item? Were they fairly paid and well-treated? Was unnecessary damage done to the environment in the item's production? How long will it last me?

Fair trade is not a middle-class conceit. It has resonance for everyone who cares about what they buy and where it has come from. The inefficiency of buying things that only last five minutes starts to hit home as another factory-produced item falls apart at the seams. So why not make a resolution as we go into 2011, that this is the year of buying handmade and asking questions about our purchases? It can be your gift to the planet and those less-fortunate than ourselves.