To buy or not to buy

We are all embroiled in retail. And I mean all of us. No one can opt out. From the moment we existed, we became a consumer.

But something has changed. Like never before, we are all connected. What our generation eats, buys, wears and even cheers on a Saturday afternoon hails from a foreign land.

A global work force is deployed in the search to manufacture products at a price that will meet our insatiable desire to consume. This unfettered desire is a threat to our future but may also hold the key to a brighter tomorrow.

Bono’s new Product (Red) is a case in point. It aims to harness consumer power not undermine it. A percentage of the profits generated by its branded items (now including trade-mark Bono wrap arounds, mobile phones, shoes, clothes and credit cards) go to fight AIDS in Africa www.joinred.com. The products aim to rival any on the market. They aim to win you as a consumer (and as a compassionate, enlightened human being.)

Bono makes one emphatic point: as consumers, we have a powerful choice. We have an opportunity. What we collectively choose to buy or not to buy can change the course of history. International development organisations are increasingly waking up to this. Their message has changed. They are not just interested in your one off donation; they are interested in challenging your lifestyle.

I’m not just talking about boycotting blacklisted apparel companies or confectionary conglomerates. I’m thinking about more penetrative, positive choices.

Increasingly consumers can choose an ethical alternative: from your ISPs to your holidays abroad, from the wine you drink to the food you eat, from where you invest your savings to the clothes you wear.

When we go out today, there are choices we can make which can make this world stronger, safer, fairer.

We have to decide though: will we use our power?


ENDS