Could Frugality Support Slave Labour & Be Bad For The Environment?
It seems that there are two camps when it comes to frugality. In the face of reduced means (or an attempt to reduce spending) people appear to do one of two things; 1. buy less stuff 2. buy the same amount of stuff but go for cheaper options. Whilst on a superficial level these are both valid options (eg. switch from brand name rice to homebrand rice) my travels this weekend have lead me to believe that far too many folks choose option number two with little thought as to what it might mean.
Say for example you decide you want a tshirt and find one for $15. Given that $15 includes the store’s markup of at least 50%, what do you think that tshirt cost to make? What do you suppose the person that made it was paid and what were their working conditions like? Understandably, not everyone has the means to buy expensive items although there are plenty of cheap options out there that are environmentally safe and made by people who were paid adequately in good working conditions (to continue the tshirt example, American Apparel provide such options).
For that matter, in case you didn’t get the memo… what’s old is new again. Women have been using the term ‘vintage’ for years as a euphemism for clothing from a bygone era finally seeing the light of day again. Whilst often just being a nice way of saying ’secondhand’ vintage also encompasses clothing known as ‘deadstock’ that has never been worn and still has its tags attached. It seems this trend has expanded into other categories now, as a glance at eBay will show you a plethora of secondhand furniture options ranging from reupholstered Eames furniture to antique restoration projects-in-waiting.
Then there’s the DIY option. Many cleaning products can be recreated at home using products you already have in your pantry, like baking powder, bicarb soda and lemon juice – making them both environmentally friendly (although this probably doesn’t do much about the person making them being paid well! 
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The bottom line is, in your quest for frugality, keep in mind the wider ramifications of your choices. There’s no point being fiscally savvy if the purchases you do make are supporting terrorism (for example, fake designer goods), keeping workers in poverty or having a detrimental impact on the environment.
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