Why Simplify II

Choosing to live simply is not just about consuming less but about consuming ethically - being informed about what your buying and its impact on society. Due to the globalization our shops are full of goods from all over the world. Multinational companies source their goods and services from wherever labour is cheapest - often in places where labour law is ignored or non-existent and at the expense of jobs in our own region.

Concern for Social Justice in the way you interact economically is a central part of simple living for me. On the internet one can find many sites to do with living as cheaply as you can (just google "frugal living" to see what I mean) but voluntary simplicity is not just about getting the cheapest. I can buy a cheap shirt in Dunnes Stores or Primark but that shirt was probably made in third world country by someone who was paid a lot less than someone working in an Irish or UK shirt factory (if indeed there are any left). I am not saying that big supermarkets like the ones mentioned necessarily engage in practices that are socially unjust but that as a consumer one should find out as much as one reasonably can about the social impact of one's purchases. Living simply may, paradoxically, mean that you are prepared to pay more for an item sometimes to ensure that those who made it were not exploited.