We live in a society that is at once the most politically
aware and the most consumer oriented in human history.
Twenty-first-century shoppers don''t just consume; we investigate
and categorize the impact of our decisions on climate change,
animals, our health, our political views, geopolitical
relationships, working conditions, and more. Yet when we actually
try to live according to our principles, it can be so overwhelming,
contradictory, and demanding that we want to scream. Every step,
every dollar, every swipe of a paper towel has become a decision
that can make the world a better—or worse—place.
Take one daily dilemma: what jacket should I buy? If it was made
in El Salvador, China, or Vietnam, was it sewn by workers in a
sweatshop at near-starvation wages, forced to labor twenty-hour
days in dangerous conditions? Are those jobs actually considered
desirable in those countries? Can I even find a jacket made in the
United States? If I do, should I insist on union-made? But what if
that''s more expensive? And what fabric is it made of? Does it
contain animal skins? Is the cotton organic? What kind of dyes were
used? Does it have fair-trade certification? Oh, and by the way:
does it look good on me?
Veteran journalist and levelheaded mom Fran Hawthorne sets out to
answer these questions—and spark more. En route, she interviews
activists and ordinary consumers alike, including officials from
PETA, the AFL-CIO, the Sierra Club, an organization of "EcoMoms,"
and the rabbinical group that has redefined kosher. She learns from
ethicists, psychologists, Wall Street analysts, child-rearing
experts, and policy wonks, while examining everything from Barack
Obama''s union-made inaugural ball tuxedo to the conundrum of how
electric cars might obtain their electricity. And she delves into
socially responsible investing at a moment when the wheels have
come off the economy. Her odyssey will be all-too familiar and
often funny for consumers who have thrown up their hands and
wondered, "What''s a good liberal to do?"
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