Every New Decision Has a Justice Price Tag…

Thats the theme in Everyday Justice: The Global Impact of Our Daily Choices, a very practical book by Julie Clawson with the appropriate subtitle of the global impact of our daily choices.

Julie Clawson makes a number of great points, like:

• Our local, everyday choices reverberate around the globe.
• Acting justly makes life more complicated. It means we start thinking about how we shop, dress, and drive.
• Sometimes the way to start is not to try to overhaul our lives but to tweak them. The reason? A few people might be up for the overhaul but most run away, panicked and overwhelmed.

She then gives practical steps for living justly in a number of areas, ranging from coffee and chocolate to waste and debt.

My favorite idea is one she got from Brian McLarenthat just like we have nutrition facts on food products, we should have ethical facts on all products. Just as a nutrition label tells us what we are about to eat, the ethics label would tell us about the history of what we are about to purchase or consumer. Were the workers paid fair wages? Are they being treated humanely? Were hazardous pesticides and chemicals used on this product? Was it grown in sustainable ways?

Great idea. Maybe not super feasible, but still a great idea.