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It costs more to buy "ethical" baby products
Categories: Health & Safety, Eating & Nutrition, Media
An interesting article on the BBC confirms what we already knew: it is more expensive to buy "green" and "ethical" products for our kids. According to the BBC, it costs 700 pounds more a year (almost $ 1400.00 US dollars) to purchase environmentally friendly, non-exploitative products. And quite honestly, I would have thought it would be more than that.
I fall into the semi-lackadaisical camp here. I have watched documentaries on sweat labour shops and environmental mayhem, and often I try to do my part: we walk to the store, we use low-energy lights, we recycle where we can. When it comes to Nolan, I buy him organic everything, because I feel better when I know he's not eating raw pesticides with his apple. I try to buy him natural bath products and "green" clothing, but I bypass the cloth nappies because I am admittedly still kind of lazy in my approach.
The BBC article noted some price differences between "green" and "non-green" items, and actually I found the variable to be a lot less than here. An organic banana in my city is about double the price or a regular one. I'm hoping that as the demand for more natural food increases, the prices will go down.
I fall into the semi-lackadaisical camp here. I have watched documentaries on sweat labour shops and environmental mayhem, and often I try to do my part: we walk to the store, we use low-energy lights, we recycle where we can. When it comes to Nolan, I buy him organic everything, because I feel better when I know he's not eating raw pesticides with his apple. I try to buy him natural bath products and "green" clothing, but I bypass the cloth nappies because I am admittedly still kind of lazy in my approach.
The BBC article noted some price differences between "green" and "non-green" items, and actually I found the variable to be a lot less than here. An organic banana in my city is about double the price or a regular one. I'm hoping that as the demand for more natural food increases, the prices will go down.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Sara Denomme 3-17-2007 @ 11:33PM
Nice post. I buy green for most of my daughter's necessities. Another way that goes hand in hand with being green, and that could easily lessen the cost as well, is to USE less things in general. We watch our consumption of things like bath products, and we always recycle what we can, which is easy for us since we just throw recycleables into a bin and put it at the curb every Tuesday. We only buy the organic food that is prone to more pesticide exposure, and buy from our farmer's markets to help the local economy. We use cloth diapers on our infant and happen to LOVE it. It's not a matter of being lazy - it's actually very easy to use cloth, and sooooooo much cheaper! It seems daunting, but after you take the initial plunge it's quite easy. Take it from us, living green need not be difficult!
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Lynne Eldridge M.D. 3-17-2007 @ 11:15PM
Kristin,
I am sure as those of us that choose to buy organic food for our children increase in number, the price will come down.
For now, Nolan is very fortunate to have a mom that pays a little more for his long-term health! Someday he will know how lucky he is! Lynne
Lynne Eldridge M.D.
Author, "Avoiding Cancer One Day At A Time"
http://www.avoidcancernow.com
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RL 3-17-2007 @ 11:48PM
I saw this report too -- and I was also struck by the inappropriate use of the word 'ethical' rather than environmentally conscious. I also thought it was amusing that the owner of the 'ethical', environmentally friendly baby shop more or less came straight out and said he was making a big profit off 'those people' (he meant 'rich') who shopped there. With a 33% or more mark-up on 'unethical' products, we've a long way to go before average earners, especially in the UK, can afford to use these services.
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silver 3-18-2007 @ 12:25AM
I don't know about organic agriculture. But I do know something about organic milk. It takes seven years to convert a farm to an organic dairy farm from a standard one. That means that supply is not able to keep up with demand at this point. Especially with demand increasing as quickly as it has been. So I would actually expect prices to continue to rise.
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SKL 3-18-2007 @ 12:25AM
I've found that by combining environmentally-friendly products with environmentally-friendly and healthy behaviors, I actually spend less than my more conventional friends. A lot less.
However, I admit that I don't buy organic clothing. The cost difference is too much and I'm not convinced the benefit is that great. On the other hand, I buy only cotton clothes and leather shoes (except for the rare purchases of suits and nylons for business meetings), and use them until they are nearly falling apart, at which time I donate them to benefit someone whose own clothes have already fallen apart. So I guess I get some green points for that, or at least not too many demerits.
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Kelly 3-18-2007 @ 7:03AM
I agree with silver. When demand goes up, so do prices. It's when SUPPLY goes up that prices come down.
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april 3-19-2007 @ 9:28AM
Jumping a lot between the US and the UK I actually find organic and fair trade stuff less expensive in the UK. In my experience there is a much greater mark up in the US. I always put this down to there being a bigger demand in the UK.
Basics, especially, like organic dairy products and eco-nappies, run at a much lower price in the UK.
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