I went to Asda last night and bought the missing duvet and sheet for the spare room. The duvet cost a remarkable £8, and it wasn't even the cheapest one there. This triggered off a series of thoughts:
(i) Wasn't I foolish to buy the duvet cover from John Lewis when I could have got a much cheaper one at Asda?
(ii) But in order to charge these low prices, Asda must screw the poor little duvet-stitching peasants.
(iii) Therefore I shouldn't buy such cheap things, and don't have to feel so bad about spending more in John Lewis
(iv) But what if John Lewis also pay their suppliers almost nothing, but just have a higher cost base?
We all know that ethical living and economy rarely go hand in hand. But how can you tell if the extra money you pay in some shops actually goes to the person making the goods?
(i) Wasn't I foolish to buy the duvet cover from John Lewis when I could have got a much cheaper one at Asda?
(ii) But in order to charge these low prices, Asda must screw the poor little duvet-stitching peasants.
(iii) Therefore I shouldn't buy such cheap things, and don't have to feel so bad about spending more in John Lewis
(iv) But what if John Lewis also pay their suppliers almost nothing, but just have a higher cost base?
We all know that ethical living and economy rarely go hand in hand. But how can you tell if the extra money you pay in some shops actually goes to the person making the goods?
posted by OboeJane at 9:24 am
4 Comments:
I like John lewis becasue all the staff are shareholders. A girl in my choir works for them.
Anyway, if the shop does well all the staff, right down to the girl who washes up in the cafe, gets a bonus, which I think is great.
They produce alot of their stuff in Britain. Fiona in my choir runs a weaving mill in manchester where they weave the JL curtain fabrics. They are one of only a few mills left in the north. Thats why they are more expensive -bristish made, and they look after their staff.
You have to remember that the people slaving away in the sweatshops are indeed paid a small sum for their labours, but to them it is a small fortune. Sanctions by the west causing the closing of these places is condemming thousands of people to a life of starvation as there are no other jobs for them to go to.
I should know, my father was running a sweatshop in Burma until recently. They made Yves Saint Laurent shirts for about 10p each. He ran it for about 10 years and didn't send my brother or I a single shirt. Git!
Anyway, US sanctions meant that it closed so he now works in Morocco, probably doing something similar.
Hmmm. Although I agree with the idea of what you are saying (i.e. that sanctions or unfair trade embargoes hurt valuable employment in some countries) there is still the very real issue of huge multinationals being able to screw down the prices of their suppliers. All the big car manufacturers do it, and Walmart(of which Asda is of course now part) probably invented it...
I don't know about all the politcal stuff mentioned in other people's comments (bit of an airhead!) however I do know that shopping in John Lewis is about a thousand times more pleasurable than shopping in ASDA (ugh)...just to have the infintely more pleasant experience is worth the difference in cost....I say "Vote John Lewis" every time
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