3.9A - Local Sourcing
Local groups and NGOs promote local sourcing (Transition towns) as one response to globalisation by increasing sustainability (A: actions of local pressure groups); this has economic, social and environmental costs and benefits.
There are several different responses to the social and environmental ethical issues raised by globalisation and globalised consumer products.
A key response in developed countries has been a move towards localism: the idea that food and goods should be grown locally, supporting local jobs and reducing transport, and thus being more sustainable, rather than being sourced globally.
For example, buying local products, trying to trade with other local businesses and building local community movements around sustainability issues.
This is often promoted by local groups and NGOs.
Transition towns
Founded in 2006 the non-governmental organisation (NGO) 'Transition Network' encourages towns to grow their own food in community gardens (not import it) and reduce energy used in transport, e.g. cycling and recycle waste/reuse materials. Some towns like Totnes, Exeter and Stroud even have their own local currencies to encourage local trade.
These initiatives are small scale, but some elements like 'grow your own' could have a big impact if widely adopted and promoting local sourcing becomes more widespread.
Sustainable Development: Meeting the needs of the current generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. it includes environmental, economic and social sustainability (quality of life).
Extra
A consumer society is a community that often buys new goods and services and places high value on the ownership of new products. Globalisation has promoted this by reducing prices (increasing purchasing power) and increasing choice of products. It's unsustainable environmentally and ethically (economically and socially), due to resource use and pollution. They also eat more meat (10kg of veg required for 1 kg meat), and buy more water-intensive luxury goods. They use more water (washing machines, toilets), and more energy. Our current usage of fossil fuels is unsustainable and peak oil production may be near. (Although this has been extended due to fracking)
Consumer society environmentally unsustainable due to resource use and pollution - yet it is expected to grow by 2 billion people by 2050.
An ecological footprint is measure of the area of biologically productive land & water required to produce goods consumed & to assimilate waste generated (using current technology.)
The average citizen in USA has ecological footprint 8 ha per person, a Sub-Saharan African subsistence farmer uses 0.4 ha.
Consumer society environmentally unsustainable due to resource use and pollution - yet it is expected to grow by 2 billion people by 2050.
An ecological footprint is measure of the area of biologically productive land & water required to produce goods consumed & to assimilate waste generated (using current technology.)
The average citizen in USA has ecological footprint 8 ha per person, a Sub-Saharan African subsistence farmer uses 0.4 ha.