Madam, - I wonder how many people in Ireland were shocked by the revelations regarding the use of child labour in India made in a recent BBC TV Panoramaprogramme.
I do not lay the blame for this situation on Primark/Penneys. I am sure that the controls this company puts in place for avoiding the use of child labour are as good, if not better, than any other companies that source manufactured goods in India and the rest of the developing world.
I blame the population of Ireland and the rest of the Western world. Our insatiable desire to acquire ever more products and services for less of our hard-earned money is driving so much that is wrong in the world today. Companies - and I do not limit this to multi-nationals - are simply reacting to consumer wants and using these to increase their profits.
How many examples can I cite without putting my mind to it? Supermarkets paying the lowest possible price for staples such as milk, putting farmers in a position where they can hardly cover their own costs. Ryanair and others offering ever more routes at low fares, putting unbelievable pressure on the environment in terms of fuel use while at the same time expecting airports to provide their services for close to their operating margins.
Clothing manufacturers selling clothes so cheaply that exploitation of workers cannot be a surprise. Unprecedented demands for energy based on a seemingly unstoppable rise in the use of cars, increases in the size of houses and an explosion in the number of electronic gadgets in the home. The list goes on and on. The food on our plates coming from the four corners of the globe, setting agricultural land in Europe to waste, decimating the farming industry in many European countries like the UK, and again putting unnecessary planes in the air.
Who is to blame for this? You and I. Until we realise this, we are on a trajectory for self destruction, make no mistake. We have to realise that resources are finite. The days of cheap food, cheap energy and over-indulgence are over.
We need to reverse the trend of globalisation in many areas of our lives. We need to produce more of our food locally and use our land efficiently, accepting that food is seasonal; broccoli in December is a luxury, not a need. City breaks abroad are not a right, they are in most cases unnecessary - as are televisions in every room, gas-guzzling SUVs and central heating on for 12 hours a day. You can afford to pay more for fewer clothes if the clothes are made in Europe and not in Asia, saving European jobs. How many dresses does your daughter need?
They used to say the customer is king. Well, demonstrate this by exercising your kingly right to change and make the world a better place.
- Yours, etc,
LES BOURNE, The Gate House, Broadford, Co Clare.