My inner hippie cometh out to play.

I have always been a bit of a tree hugging wanna be, i think it harks back to my tie dye wearing, vegetarian eating teenage years. I loved a bit of a chick pea curry and a dance around a field to a bit of folk music. But these days I find myself eating meat, which is rarely organic, listening to Will young - yes i admit i do like him. And throwing the odd plastic container in the normal bin cos taking it to where we keep our recycling is just too much effort.


There seems to be such a huge gap between what would be classed as 'mainstream' lifestyle habits, and those who actually do live a sustainable, ethical lifestyle. I like to think there is a middle ground, but after years of mulling this one over, I'm not sure there is. What is the point of me buying one dress from people tree, if my sunglasses are £1 from primark ? I have slowly waded my way through the thick treacly effort of ethical daily living, to the dry and easy island of ' ah well you can only do what you can do ey'.


Why should there be countless Indian children poisioned by the run off from living next to a dumping ground for all our electrical waste, just so i can have a flatter tv with a better screen ? Yes our old phones do have to go somewhere. And why should someone the same age as me be mining metals with their bare hands, so the chip in my laptop will work and won't cost us huge amounts of money ?




Having spent many years, writing to MPs, lobbying the bods in charge to make changes, I still find myself more often than not, buying a pair of shoes I know won't have been made in good conditions, and munching on a tasty orange which has probably been picked by someone in bonded labour. Let alone all the damage I do to the environment by not disposing of things properly..... tell me i'm not the only one who throws batteries in the bin cos i'm too lazy to recycle them at the local tip ?


So, I have no answers, and maybe this post is more a way of a public confession to make me feel better next time I drive to McDonalds, or decide i simply HAVE to have another pair of £2 flipflops cos the others don't match my earings ...........


So share any thoughts you have on this, i'd love to hear your views and ideas.