Question

You are shopping for a gift for a relative, and you are trying to choose between two sweaters you have seen for sale on the Internet. One is $40, is a well-known name brand, and was produced from the latest high-tech synthetic materials in a factory in Bangladesh. The other is $70 and was hand-made by a woman a few towns away who raises sheep and spins her own wool. Both vendors will ship the items to your home. Explain how you will decide which item to buy. Be sure to consider the economic issues and potential environmental impact of the product you choose. (8 points)

Answer 1

By purchasing $40 dollar sweater you will indirectly support a foreign industry, which earns its money by selling bulk items to its client, the well-known name brand. However, the clothing industry in Southeast Asia has a history of damaging the environment by pouring highly toxic residuals to nearby water streams.  On the other hand, by purchasing the $70 dollar sweater from the woman a few towns away, you will be directly benefiting her as there are no intermediaries between the customer and the producer. You will also be benefiting the women's suppliers of materials she needed to manufacture the sweater. Nevertheless, you will be incurring in excess of $30 in comparisson to the first option.