Ethical honesty

Last week I ordered 20kg of organic flour, several litres of olive oil, plus a few kilos of oats, rice, sugar, almonds and lentils. If our economic system were to collapse tomorrow, I'd be prepared!

However, this blog post isn't about doom and gloom. In total, the amount of my order came to 130 Euros. I purchased everything on the website of RINCÓN DEL SEGURA, a small company which grows most of its products on local land in southern Spain. I didn't have to pay a single cent upfront – 'just wait until you receive the order', it said, 'and then you can pay by bank transfer within a month'. I was impressed.

Now, try to do the same when shopping on Amazon, or when going to any supermarket or outlet store. Surely, they'd laugh at you if you asked to pay later.

I called someone at Sierra Segura, the flour place, and was told they've been doing it like this for many years already. They have never had any problems with unpaid bills.

So, I wonder if honesty and ethical shopping might be related? Perhaps people who buy sustainable and fair products know that dishonesty is exactly the opposite: neither sustainable nor fair. And when there are consciousness and a sound attitude on both sides, the company can trust clients with paying the invoice, just as the clients can trust the quality of the products.

Honesty and ethical shopping – both need to grow. Looking at the miserable state of the world, lies and mindless consumerism are definitely not the solution.