A Happy Medium

If you're stoney broke and up to your eyes in debt then how to go about the simple life is decided for you - ethics are secondary to getting by and all your consuming is dictated more or less exclusive by the imperative to get the cheapest price you can.

If you are comfortably off with a good salary, pension or whatever then again you have little to worry about. You can afford to pay a higher premium for organic and fairly traded products or good quality, long lasting tools, clothes etc.

What do you do if you are in the middle like me? I don't get paid lots but I don't have any debt. I have to watch the pennies but I am not forced to get the cheapest thing every time - sometimes I can afford to spend a little more if it's in a good cause. I imagine there are many people caught in the middle like me - not skint and forced to consume what the big supermarkets and unethical cut-price chains put before them but not so well-heeled that they are able pay over-the-odds for best ethically produced stuff.

How then does someone like me maximise the ethical component in their lifestyle? How do you save the world on a budget? That really is the nub of what I wish to explore in this blog.