She's at it again.

I have returned from a truly random expedition.

Dad suddenly pops his head into my room and asks if I'd like to go for a drive somewhere. Apparently it will be to my 'benefit'. I've been attempting to nap for the past 45 minutes but despite being dazed and confused, I agree.

One hour later I'm standing in a giant warehouse surrounded by racks of marked down designer clothing. A company in Melbourne has recently gone bust, everything must go, etc. Pick something dad says.

Random.

So I now have a nice new pair of jeans. I tried them on once again as I got home and I had a look at the tag: designed in Australia, assembled in China.

I inspected the stitching. Now I am by no stretch of the imagination a 'sewer', 'knitter' or even 'cross-stitcher'. I think most people would encourage me to keep away from needle-work of any kind (especially those on our church weekend away who were trying to teach me to knit), but I know quality. There were stitches all over the place and they were slightly frayed. I was able to pick up on all sorts of imperfections.

Assembled in China. Assembled by whom? Where? Was this person a child? What was this person's rate of pay? How many hours did they work in a day? How many pairs of jeans did they have to assemble per hour?

I cannot look at a piece of clothing without wondering who made it and under what conditions. I'd hoped that a more expensive pair of jeans might mean that those who made them were in no way exploited. However as I looked carefully over the handiwork it was easy to tell that they were made in a rush, in an attempt to fill an order and, I can only assume, by a person who was and probably still is in an awful circumstance.

Recommended retail price of the pair of jeans: $179.00

It's a joke.

And here's the trade-off: ethical consumerism is expensive. I'd have to pay around $300 for a pair of jeans that had not been made under illegal conditions. Fairtrade chocolate and coffee is more expensive. A Fairtrade pair of sneakers is more expensive. This is because the people who made them are actually getting a fair price for their labour. Clothes are absolutely impossible. I no longer consider a $5 t-shirt a bargain, I look at it and see the person in the sweatshop who made it.

I have a confession to make. Earlier this year I spent $100 on a pair of jeans. To a lot of people this may seem absolutely ridiculous. But I am adamant. Firstly, I buy one pair of jeans a year, if that. Secondly, this pair of jeans was marked down from $200. Thirdly, they fit perfectly and go with absolutely everything. Finally, they were made in Australia. I do not regret spending money on a pair of jeans that I get good use of and which I am 99% sure involved no exploitation in the process of their production.

But is this too much to spend? I don't buy clothing often. I've bought nothing but that pair of jeans since I came back from India and in light of that trip, spending such an amount on a pair of jeans was even more difficult. For me personally, sometimes spending a little more money on a piece of clothing that I know was not made in a sweatshop puts my mind at ease. Particularly when it's a pair of jeans that I wear all the time. Honestly, I don't think I could wear an engagement ring if I didn't know for sure that it was conflict-free because the thought that someone could have died to find the rock on my finger upsets me to no end.

Maybe this is overkill. Maybe this is a feeble attempt to justify expensive taste under the guise of 'ethical consumerism'. I hope not. At the end of the day: I'm willing to spend extra for a quality item made by somebody who was paid rightly.

I know of and I've read criticisms of Fairtrade goods, that in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't really make a difference. But if I can do something, somehow, however small, then I will. And if lots of other people decided to as well, then who knows what might happen. Suck it up and pay an extra 50 cents for a Fairtrade cup of coffee. Or you could always just decide that the problem is too big and too far away to deal with. It's not like you'd be the first.

What's behind the label?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq4TglVSUJM

Why we should buy conflict-free diamonds:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoJNwmZ74bU