Trade off

I was in H&M earlier today salivating at the 50% off madness, trying not to get bruised by the sharp elbows of shopping-crazed women with their laser-sharp gaze focussed on bagging another bargain, and then I remembered this Channel 4 news story I saw earlier this week that showed how even though all these high street stores say they subscribe to some kind of Ethical trading foundation, they still have 9 year old kids working in sweatshop conditions in Bangladesh. The undercover story showed all these little kids hunched over sewing machines for 10 hours a day, producing disposable t-shirts that we in the West can wear maybe 2 or 3 times before throwing away. Talk about a shopping buzz kill. And suddenly everything in the store looked crap. I could see it for what it was - just racks of superficial consumption to help you fill that gaping hole of emptiness that threatens to swallow you up if you ever stopped for a second to think about it. No wonder shopping is the second most popular leisure activity after watching TV. They are just distraction techniques, stopping you from facing up to life. I just couldn't buy anything. M - whose arms were full of discounted t-shirts and sweaters (men are just as bad as women) - felt pretty guilty after I told him my thoughts, so he asked if he should put all the clothes away. And I was like, what, are you going to shop fairtrade from now on? Wouldn't that mean a future of recycled hemp clothing, all in attractive varieties of beige? I'm sure its not that bad - but still why are all these clothes in cream, or olive green? So he continued on his way to the till, with a tinge of a guilty conscience, and I decided, I think I have enough clothes to do me for now..... till New York that is.