So as I've mentioned before, there seems to exist this peculiar idea that we can avert an environmental crisis by changing our shopping habits instead of cutting back on the sprees'. Now I'm as guilty as the next person of maybe spending a bit too much money on a Saturday afternoon in the town. Shopping. Is. Fun. And, to some extent, changing what you buy and where you buy it from does help, as I already mentioned in my post about buying fair trade and organic produce.
However, things can get taken to extremes. Websites such as www.ethicalsuperstore.com , whilst being invaluable to me for supplying the only fair-trade Earl Grey tea in existence (as far as I'm aware), also seem to make quite a healthy buck peddling some of the most dubious-sounding Eco-gadgets I've ever heard of. Take, for instance, the inflatable chimney pillow. It pretty much is what the name suggests it is. It's basically a giant bath pillow that you blow up and stick up the chimney to "allow ventilation, but stop unwanted draughts, debris, and noise entering your home." Don't worry though, if you accidentally forget about it and light a fire underneath it, it should "shrivel and deflate". Good stuff. But, wait a minute. I don't claim to have any knowledge whatsoever of the structure of your average chimney, but a vague memory of the fireplace in my grandparent's house tells me that usually, most chimneys have a sort of metal flap that closes over the fireplace to stop things like "unwanted draughts, debris and noise". Wikipedia has confirmed this suspicion of mine, and informed me that this metal flap is in fact called a damper. So, the magical wonderful inflatable chimney pillow is designed to do a job that you average conforms-to-industry-safety-standards fireplace does already? I smell a pointless product....
Another useless investment you might wish to make if you've a spare £229 knocking about is the "Multi Tech Intelli Pro Air Purifier". This contraption will "destroy air pollutants and bacteria" for you in your home. Presumably this gadget is aimed at those world-weary souls who, after years and years fighting the good fight trying to save the world by buying fair trade everything, have realised that the whole planet's still going to go to hell in a hand basket, but would rather not go themselves just yet. So, whilst still happy to consume away the planet, they remove one effect of their habits, air pollution, from their immediate vicinity and their loved ones, the rest of the planet can merrily choke on the fumes produced by their greedy shopping habits. Isn't it nice to know people haven't lost hope (or their hunger for More Stuff).
Shopping may be fun, but don't let Eco-friendly labels cloud your judgement into thinking that shopping is the answer to the world's problems.
xx
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