Quote:
Originally Posted by jayswin
No, I think Table5 has it right. It's not that someone shopping at Walmart or trampling old ladies to save $20 can't afford to spend $10 more for one product for ethical reasons. Almost everyone could.
The real issue is that everyone feels entitled to own everything that is awesome. If a person can choose between these scenarios of completely unnecessary, but convenient/fun products...
a) two $100 items, well crafted, locally produced and sold, will last awhile or;
b) three $33 items, cheap, delivered to the door tomorrow and you have THREE THINGS that you want for $100
85% of the lower/middle class is going for option A. The way she goes boys, the way she goes.
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I'd agree.
Aside, the sort of places that sell local, homegrown, fairtrade, [insert more socially/environmentally responsible buzzwords here] wares know who their demographic is; people of means who can afford to pay for it as a way of feeling good about their purchases.
The rub here is that most people often view paying an excessive amount for something that could otherwise be acquired for a lesser sum of money as pretentious and absurd. For example, who in their right mind would
pay the equivalent of $40 for a pound of ground coffee no matter how ethical / sustainable / etc. it is, when you can buy a pound of generic ground coffee for as low as $7 at Walmart? (I buy Kicking Horse "Smart Ass" for my ground coffee, so there's your answer where I'm concerned.)
On one hand, you have people who would say that regularly supporting a business like Walmart is socially irresponsible for their questionable ethical record. On the other, you have people that would say spending more money on something than you need to is wasteful and excessive and you can get the same thing at Walmart for cheaper.