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Confessions of an ethical retailer
onfessions an ethical retailer.
Biome Lifestyle I started a business Internet in the UK, three years ago to sell environmentally friendly household items. I thought at the time that the two principles that work for were simple, were style, and the need to work in harmony with the natural environment. It turns out that the world is far more complicated than that!
The style is still a guiding light, of course, but the ethical principles that are now working for larger and more complex than a simple eco-friendliness.
Naturally, the world's ecology is of vital importance to us all, and globalization is basically the environment. Apart from anything else, mass consumerism consuming our planet's finite natural resources and contributes to global warming.
In addition, agriculture uses huge amounts of mass of pesticides and fertilizers, and production industrial scale can produce industrial quantities of toxins.
But global consumption is also human side effects. It can lead to exploitation ruthless people in industrial sweatshops in poor countries, and the impoverishment of small-scale farmers who have to sell their goods to buyers large scale in developed countries worldwide.
So now we have a list of questions to ask ourselves whether we are looking for new products. We started, of course, the basic question of whether customers will like the look of the item. Will look good in your home? But then we get to the ethics of the story behind the product.
We look at the impact of its production and sales, to see if the environment deteriorates in any way, either by use of local resources, or by the way they are transported. We like the use of recycled materials and the production of recyclable products. sustainable sources of raw materials are important, as good forest management. And transport by ship to the United Kingdom will always be preferable to air cargo.
We looked at doing it, and how they are organized. We will not sell products that do not know the whole story. We tend to favor production cooperatives or family unity, because we believe that this reduces the likelihood of unfair exploitation. If we are thinking of buying from a company, investigate their policies on pay rates, training opportunities, and position the company in their local community.
We respect crafts, handmade items are important to us. It is good to think that knowledge accumulated over generations can still produce traditional materials that look good in a house of the 21st century!
Often we find that the elements customers want to see occur at a distance, and are brought to the UK by a network of business organizations. Always investigate the networks to see if the trade is fair to producers. Sometimes it is necessary to see beyond their "Fair Trade" certified. But small producers and importers who tend to treat often can not afford afford to invest in certification, so we do control our customers want to do for themselves, and make sure that the principles of fair trade are followed.
So a brief summary of our hinterland ethics today are concerned about fair trade, lack of human exploitation, resources renewable, the use of recycled and recyclable materials, use of organic production methods, handmade products, organized in production or socially responsible companies and the elimination of air-miles "included in our range. Ugh!
In retrospect, perhaps all of these principles should have been thought through from the beginning. But it seems now that we are a full spectrum of products business ethics, and that very thought is a fulfillment ending.
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