Seriously?Follow

Every cup of Fair Trade coffee I've ever had tastes like crap.

That's because it's not seasoned with the tears of Juan Valdez. We only drink Cafe Bustelo, which I'm fairly certain is made from the bones of Mexican children and charcoal. They used is an example of an international food at some meeting Nexa was at and when she said "hey, it's my coffee," several people looked at her suspiciously.

Ah, but does it also contain the tears of his mule? That adds an extra kick for me.

Hmm, time to get outfitted in American Apparel and New Balance, I guess.

You know, in all this. I just feel for all those that died. What a horrible way to go I wonder if they even knew what danger they were in before the collapse? This has happened before in other countries and other buildings. The Sampoong department store being another high profile building collapse.

Boycott is always the best way to show displeasure to a firm if you feel they are not listening.
You could ask Starbucks what they think of a UK customer backlash .... Costa Coffee gaining as Starbucks sinks

In this case I'm not sure this is the right thing. The consumer needs to step up and pay more for their clothes so that contracts can be written with safety regulations stipulated but I doubt the consumer cares enough unless the press jump in with an "OMG, the outrage of the week is here, let's bang this drum till the next newsworthy issue pops up". It's all noise.
Hmmm ... in a really 'bad taste' tangent I was left wondering what the headline would be for a building falling down on 500 lawyers ... or 500 estate agents .. or 500 tax inspectors ... you get my drift .. I'm annoyed with myself for even thinking it

For the record, I buy fair trade coffee. I pay twice as much for it as I possibly should, it comes in smaller containers than I would like but I feel justified and liberal and free when I drink it It may help that at home I only drink it in the morning when I could not care less what it tastes like, I just need the hit.

As for clothes. I buy expensive and wear the hell out of them. I do not buy in cheaper stores, premium only thanks. That said, I have a smaller wardrobe than most and cycle each season. Quality stays. I'll always pay more for a better product (and for better conditions for those producing them). I must be pretty freaky to old Smasharoo as a very rare cosumer

Judging from the number of Walmarts & Targets versus the number of high end retailers, I don't think there's any question about which which consumer is more scarce.

I'll spend extra on something with the Fair Trade logo, or some other claim to ethical conduct. (Preferably one I know about myself previously from elsewhere, than from the advertising on the packaging. Although I'll go with what's on the package's ingredient's list in lieu of better information.) Sometimes 5 to 10 times extra, and I'll eat the economic hit by buying less stuff. TLW and I had an intellectual disagreement about it, after my War and Peace Theory of Shopping thread a while back. According to him, it was probably better ethically to buy the cheapest sh*t you could on everyday items, and save and invest hard, and then later on spend the difference on donating to one extremely well researched, beneficial charity. For me, it has been an adulthood long education in sometimes getting what you pay for, sometimes even coming well out ahead in return (use) on "investment", and sometimes NOT getting extra for what you pay for, except for peace of mind. And also learning what you really can't buy over the internet.

Years ago, TLW was incredulous about the plan I was on with my electricity provider. They did this thing, where you could pay 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% extra for your electricity, and they guaranteed that that proportion of your bill was (not directly supplied by renewable energy plants, but) proportionally fed into the electricity grid by renewable electricity plants. The uptake of this plan was so wildly oversubscribed, that the electricity provider had to change the plan. The proportion of your bill going to renewables was now guaranteed to be spent on building new renewable electrical plants (solar heat, geothermal, wind, etc).

I told TLW I was spending 100% more on my electrical bill in return for the guarantee that that was going on building renewable plants. He almost fell off his chair because I was paying double to a company not for their service, but for them to build assets that didn't even exist yet that they would retain, and I would not have a share in. I seriously blew TLW's mind with this piece of consumer idiocy I was engaged in. I was really really happy to pay for my electricity this way. Doesn't stop me from switching off the light when I leave a room, though.

Edited, May 4th 2013 1:34am by Aripyanfar

Yeah that system you subscribe to is whack. How whack? This whack.