{"id":2605,"date":"2024-08-28T15:26:06","date_gmt":"2024-08-28T15:26:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?p=2605"},"modified":"2026-03-06T12:52:53","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T12:52:53","slug":"confessions-of-an-eco-sinner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/?p=2605","title":{"rendered":"Confessions Of An Eco-Sinner"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<iframe frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" style=\"border:0px\" src=\"https:\/\/books.google.co.uk\/books?id=ZlIi89evHL8C&#038;newbks=0&#038;lpg=PP1&#038;pg=PP1&#038;output=embed\" width=1100 height=950><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-unset-1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/ftt-ladybird-geoblogs.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-135\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p class=\"has-normal-font-size\"><strong>followthethings.com<\/strong><br>Fashion | Grocery<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\" style=\"border-style:none;border-width:0px;border-radius:0px;min-height:0px\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e555385e wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons has-custom-font-size is-horizontal is-content-justification-left is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-65a8c4df wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\" style=\"font-size:8px\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--2\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-cyan-bluish-gray-color has-white-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=2005\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">2005<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--3\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-black-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=unbranded\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">UNBRANDED<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--4\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-vivid-red-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=t-shirt\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">SHIRT<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--5\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-vivid-red-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=prawns\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">PRAWNS<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--6\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-vivid-red-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=computer\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">COMPUTER<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--7\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-vivid-red-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=gold\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">GOLD WEDDING RING<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--8\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-vivid-red-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=other-goods\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">OTHER GOODS <\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--9\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-vivid-purple-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=publication\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">NONFICTION BOOK<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--10\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-black-color has-white-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=origin-india\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">GROWN IN INDIA<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--11\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-black-color has-white-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=origin-australia\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">GROWN IN AUSTRALIA<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--12\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-black-color has-white-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=origin-bangladesh\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">FARMED IN BANGLADESH<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--13\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-black-color has-white-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=origin-bangladesh\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">MADE IN BANGLADESH<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--14\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-black-color has-white-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=origin-china\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">MADE IN CHINA<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--15\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-black-color has-white-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=destination-uk\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">USED IN THE UK<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--16\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-luminous-vivid-orange-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=pop-the-bubble\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">POP THE BUBBLE<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--17\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-luminous-vivid-orange-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=cross-cultures\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">CROSS CULTURES<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--18\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-luminous-vivid-orange-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=change-consumer-behaviour\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">CHANGE CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--19\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-vivid-red-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=be-the-character\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">BE THE CHARACTER<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--20\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-vivid-red-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=make-it-a-mystery\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">MAKE IT A MYSTERY<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--21\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-vivid-red-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=follow-the-thing\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">FOLLOW THE THING<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--22\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-vivid-red-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=humanise-things\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">HUMANISE THINGS<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--23\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-vivid-red-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=join-the-dots\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">JOIN THE DOTS<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--24\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-vivid-red-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=tell-a-story\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">TELL A STORY<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#f6f0ec\">&#8220;<strong>Confessions Of An Eco-Sinner&#8221;<\/strong><br>A non-fiction book by journalist Fred Pearce.<br>Available to preview on Google Books (embedded above).<br><br>British journalist Fred Pearce travels 180,000 miles, to over 20 countries, to meet the people who produce (and sometimes recycle) the prawns in his curry, the cotton in his shirt, the computer on his desk, the gold in his wedding ring, and many other things. He wants to explore his own personal ecological footprint, and to work out whether he should be ashamed and\/or proud of the impact that his shopping has on the world. This is classic &#8216;follow the thing&#8217; research. A quest narrative. Starting in the Global North. With a person asking &#8216;who made my stuff?&#8217; They travel the world to meet the people who they rely upon and then reflect on what this means for them (and maybe you) as a &#8216;consumer&#8217;. This is an approach that critics within the &#8216;follow the thing&#8217; genre would like to &#8216;de-centre&#8217;. This work could start somewhere else! But what can readers learn from Fred&#8217;s travels nonetheless? Is everyone, unknowingly, an eco-sinner like he is? And what can be done to prevent the damage that consumption causes, out of sight and out of mind?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Page reference: Robert Black, Naomi Davies, Tom Mead, Pete Statham, Lucy Taylor and Laura Wilkinson (2011) <em>Confessions Of An Eco-Sinner.<\/em> followthethings.com\/confessions-of-an-ecosinner.shtml (last accessed &lt;insert date here&gt;)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Estimated reading time: 17 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>22 comments<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Descriptions<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-grayscale\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>A short, snappy look at the cradle to grave journey of everyday items (Source: Ellen 2009 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/3363947.Confessions_of_an_Eco_Sinner\">link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-blue-orange\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>It\u2019s a fascinating portrait, by turns sobering and hopeful, of the effects the world\u2019s more than 6 billion inhabitants\u2014 all eating, consuming, making \u2014 have on our planet, and of the working and living conditions of the people who produce most of these goods (Source: Anon 2008a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.indiebound.org\/book\/9780807085882\">link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-midnight\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>Pearce has written a book for the ecologically and socially minded. He has travelled some 180,000 km to over 20 countries to research it; investigating the origins of products, and crucially the human conditions surrounding them \u2013 actually walking the walk and finding the answers to his own curiosity about things. He describes the research, which took him a full year, and the resulting book, as &#8216;an odyssey to track his personal footprint&#8217; (Source: Murray-White 2008 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.greenprophet.com\/2008\/06\/book-review-confessions-eco-sinner\/\">link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-purple-green\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>At first glance, this title appears to be another in the current onslaught of &#8216;green&#8217; books. However, journalist and author Pearce extends his exploration from the ecological to the social and economic implications of our &#8216;stuff.&#8217; By choosing several categories of possessions &#8211; food, clothes, beer cans, and garbage &#8211; and seeking out the origins or hunting down the resting grounds of each, Pearce sets off on a journey crisscrossing the globe (Source: Hammond 2008, p.110 <a href=\"http:\/\/books.google.co.uk\/books?id=bOxPYFPZbrUC&amp;sitesec=reviews\">link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details has-small-font-size is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>+6  comments<\/summary>\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-blue-orange\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>Pearce deftly shows us the hidden worlds that sustain a Western lifestyle, and he does it by examining the sources of everything in his own life; as an ordinary citizen of the Western world, he, like all of us, is an &#8216;eco-sinner.&#8217; For a year Pearce travelled the world, both tracing the life cycle of these items but also meeting the people who produced them for him. It was an experiment that reinforced some long held truths, but also shattered a few eco-adages\/rules. Pearce travels beyond the carbon footprint of our consumer society to explore the forgotten social footprint, bringing us to the unlikely and sometimes unseemly places where our stuff is born, and where it goes to die (Source: Clark 2010 <a href=\"http:\/\/stevenclark.com.au\/2010\/01\/09\/confessions-of-an-eco-sinner-book-review\/\">link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-dark-grayscale\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>In tracing the lineage of his &#8216;stuff,&#8217; Fred Pearce\u2019s graceful and engaging book illuminates the invisible ways in which our ordinary possessions connect us to workers we will never know and forests we will never explore. Starting at the intersection of environmental threats, excessive consumption and exploited workers, confessions points us toward a far more nurturing, meaningful and humane future (Source: Gelbspan nd <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Confessions-Eco-Sinner-Tracking-Sources-Stuff\/dp\/product-description\/080708588X\">link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-unset-25\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>Pearce likes eating curry. &#8216;I have often wondered,&#8217; he says, &#8216;where the prawns in my Saturday night curry come from, but I have never got a straight answer.&#8217; It turns out they come from a part of Bangladesh near the Bay of Bengal. So he goes there, and finds a whole area that has been devastated by prawns. Or rather, by our appetite for prawns. The old landscape of small farms and mangrove swamps has been replaced by a vast monoculture of prawn farms. As Pearce points out, this is bad for wildlife &#8211; tigers, he says, are being replaced by tiger prawns. But this is just the start. This system is hugely corrupt. Prawn farming requires good irrigation, and those who control the water expect payouts from the farmers. If not, they cut the supply off. There are also prawn thieves, a prawn mafia, prawn oligarchs and prawn slaves. There are lots of beatings and rapes. Prawn dealers in Bangladesh operate in roughly the same way as drug dealers &#8211; they trample on people, because there is so much money to be made. It&#8217;s our fault. We eat the prawns. . . . We&#8217;re ruining the world because we&#8217;re trying to encourage economic growth, and the way to do this is to encourage aspiration. In the west, we are rich and aspirational. In other words, we are greedy and insecure. And now, as Pearce shows us, people in Bangladesh are starting to be aspirational, too. Soon they&#8217;ll be greedy and insecure. Then they&#8217;ll want their own sweatshops. The demonic process will continue (Source: Leith 2008 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk\/books\/2008\/apr\/12\/featuresreviews.guardianreview19\">link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-blue-orange\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>Pearce identifies thereby how difficult it is &#8211; from a consumer\u2019s perspective &#8211; to act in an \u2018environmental-correct\u2019 manner. He . . . shows that in some cases it is better to buy green beans from Kenya instead [of] from England as most of the CO2-emissions stem not from transport but from the production process (Source: Halld\u00f3rsson et al 2009, p.91).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-purple-green\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>This book brings together the complex and convoluted connections that exist between seemingly unrelated people, places and things. . . . Ultimately, Pearce challenges us to realise that even those of us with good intentions are inevitably \u2018eco-sinners\u2019 (Source: Ramsay and Wrathmell 2009, p.58).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-purple-yellow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>It&#8217;s not a book that&#8217;s attempting to rewrite the way we live or to chastise us too much for our ecological sins. But it is an attempt to find out what all of us think about from time to time, which is exactly where does my stuff come from? Exactly what are the environmental consequences of growing, whether it&#8217;s the coffee in my mug or the cotton in my shirt or whatever it is (Source: Gordon 2008 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2008\/12\/the-th-interview-fred-pearce-1.php\">link<\/a>)?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<div style=\"height:14px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Inspiration \/ Technique \/ Process \/ Methodology<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-blue-red\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>Pearce boards lots of jets for his 100,000-mile consumption quest, mostly to African and Asian countries where our low-cost labour force lives. He conducts revealing on-the-ground interviews with factory owners, managers and the underpaid workers who live what many of them perceive to be a step up from rural poverty (Source: Grant Black 2009 <a href=\"http:\/\/m.theglobeandmail.com\/news\/arts\/books\/article967495.ece?service=mobile\">link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-midnight\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>The purpose of this book is to discover the hidden world that keeps us in the state to which we have become accustomed. I have done that by exploring my own personal footprint. I have travelled the world to find out where the cotton in my shirt comes from, the coffee in my mug, the prawns in my curry, the computer on my desk, the phone in my hand and much else. To discover who grows or mines or makes my stuff, and where that stuff goes after I have finished with it. And to find out whether I should be ashamed of my purchases and their impact on the planet, or whether I should be proud to have contributed to some local economy or given a leg-up to some hard pressed community. . . . I estimate that I travelled some 180,000 kilometres on this journey, visiting more than twenty countries. It took me to the end of my street and to the end of my planet, into the African rainforests and the Central Asian deserts, to Bangladeshi sweatshops and Chinese computer factories, to the brothels of Manila and the slums of Rio, to the summits of mountains, the Arctic tundra, the fishing grounds of the Atlantic and into the bowels of the Earth (Source: Pearce 2008, p.4).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-purple-yellow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>First I wanted to find a new way of telling some familiar environmental stories, to find a new audience among people who don&#8217;t want to read about issues in the abstract. So I thought a personal journey to find out about my own footprint on the world would be one way of doing that &#8211; a way of connecting our lives with the things that environmentalists worry about. And secondly because I did want to know about where my stuff comes from. None of us really knows in these days of globalization. One scientist told me when I started work that if we lived in Roman times and wanted the lifestyle we have today, we would need about 6000 slaves: growing and cooking our food, making our music, running the stables full of horses for our travel. . . . We like to think that all these things are done by machines these days. But actually there are lots of people round the world making and growing things for us. It&#8217;s just that we don&#8217;t know who they are. So I set out to find out. That meant not just finding out about my environmental footprint, but about my social footprint, too. . . . I had about a year working hard on the research. A few of the journeys had been done before that. Finding where our oil comes from, for instance, and fish in West Africa. But mostly I did it in a series of journeys after talking to retailers and suppliers and persuading them to give me the details about the supply chains. Some of even the simplest things like a pair of cotton socks had amazingly complicated journeys. So I had to follow. . . . One of the biggest problems was the supply chains for major commodities. For instance, as I say in the book, I never did manage to get very firm links about how cotton travels round the world. I visited cotton farms in several countries, like India and Australia, and they all told me they believed that their cotton ended up in British clothing. But the big commodity companies, like Cargill, who buy the cotton and then sell it on to clothes makers, don&#8217;t tell anyone where their cotton is coming from. They are like huge spiders in the middle of a web (Source: Anon 2008b <a href=\"http:\/\/www.greenmuze.com\/reviews\/interviews\/615-an-eco-sinner-interview.html\">link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong><strong>Discussion \/ Responses<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-magenta-yellow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>Stories like those told by Pearce show how difficult it can be to determine where the balance should rest between home-grown foods and trade-based aid. If we could pull a rabbit out of a magic hat, the answer would be to create a balance that works for the prosperity of farmers in both the developed and developing worlds. It just seems that magic hats are very hard to find (Source: Clement 2008 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.christianfarmers.org\/main_news_commentaries\/2008commentaries\/Oct_31_Flown_In_Food.pdf\">link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-purple-green\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>While very interesting, I found this book lacking in the bigger picture of what is wrong with over consumption. The author paints a picture where our problems can be solved with the right mix of biofuels and ingenuity and doesn\u2019t take on the fact that the problem is that we live in a consumerist society where people buy too much crap that they don\u2019t need because companies make a huge profit out of doing so (Source: AJ 2009 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/review\/show\/43073253\">link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-blue-orange\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>What is the Western reader and consumer to make of all this? There\u2019s no point in simply feeling bad, particularly when information is so complex and difficult to obtain. The answers are rarely clear or easy. (Several times, Western companies who trumpet their ethics admitted to Pearce that they really couldn\u2019t track the sources and destinations of their products.) But it\u2019s good to keep looking and trying different strategies, one by one, with little steps that &#8211; if we all were to make them &#8211; might add up to a lot. . . . I think the best thing one may say about this book is that it is refreshing. You learn a lot without feeling in the least burdened or discouraged (Source: Loftus 2008 <a href=\"http:\/\/calitreview.com\/1945\">link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-magenta-yellow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>When it comes to finding &#8216;answers&#8217;, Pearce is as much at a loss as any despairing Green zealot. He falls back upon the treacherous first-person plural, an inclusive &#8216;we&#8217; which brings together an &#8216;international community&#8217; only when intractable problems are to be faced. When the rewards of the world are distributed, the gulf between &#8216;us and them remains. Having vigorously evoked a world using up its resources at a rate that defies replacement, he makes a leap of faith, assuming human unity in the presence of the threat to survival (Source: Seabrook 2008 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/arts-entertainment\/books\/reviews\/confessions-of-an-ecosinner-by-fred-pearce-850697.html\">link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details has-small-font-size is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>+1 comment<\/summary>\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-blue-red\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>\u2018Follow the thing\u2019 research cannot trace endless connections between people and things involved in such large and complex industries. However, Pearce . . . ha[s] surely presented a persuasive testimony of a \u2018follow the thing\u2019 approach that can inform and enlighten public opinion. Sustainability is, then, necessarily bound up with everyday living and unconscious decisions, which we need to be more reflective about. &nbsp;. . . The \u2018moral\u2019 of their stories [the authors also review Snyder\u2019s Fugitive denim link], therefore, is perhaps modest in recognising that that there is no quick fix or one-size-fits-all solution to ensure the adoption of environmentally sound and socially responsible trade systems. . . . Pearce also takes heart from the small-scale alternative business projects he encountered when buying green beans from Kenya, and when recycling his computer, which he hopes can empower grassroots producers and make a positive difference to the lives of the people involved. The strengths of these books are not, then, the answers that they give us, but the questions that they force us to ask. We may now stop to think twice about the things we put in our trolley on our weekly shop, and how much we are prepared to pay. And perhaps we will have a new-found respect and responsibility for the millions of people who produce our everyday things. The books provide cautionary tales of environmental destruction and socio-economic inequality that will persist if current production and consumption practices continue. Ultimately, these books provide us with a renewed sense of urgency to make changes to our everyday lives and our patterns of consumption, however small (Source: Ramsay &amp; Wratmell 2009, p.60).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<div style=\"height:14px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Outcomes \/ Impacts<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-dark-grayscale\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>Most of all I think this particular book is important because it changed several things about the way I operate as a consumer. I\u2019m trying not to demand rubbish for cheaper prices and I\u2019m prepared to pay more for good produce. &#8230; I\u2019ve got a greater appreciation for how much rock gets mined and how much water is consumed to provide me with a t-shirt or a gold ring. Everything comes from somewhere &#8230; and sometimes it\u2019s surprising exactly where that is (Source: Clark 2010 <a href=\"http:\/\/stevenclark.com.au\/2010\/01\/09\/confessions-of-an-eco-sinner-book-review\/\">link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-purple-yellow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>Since I read it I have found myself hesitating over everyday purchases \u2013 cups of coffee, clothes, books. It has left me wondering \u2013 somewhat helplessly \u2013 about the impact of my purchase, and about how I can compare one product against another when neither tells me where it\u2019s from (Source: Steeds 2009 <a href=\"http:\/\/books.scoop.co.nz\/2009\/11\/17\/the-hidden-life-of-what-we-buy\/\">link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-grayscale\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>The most telling thing about this book is that it has prompted me to review how I actually consume items. It\u2019s made me think about where my food and clothes come from. The thing is, if more consumers changed their buying habits, if more consumers questioned companies on where their products were sourced and what they were doing to help promote a fairer existence for workers, then people\u2019s lives in far corners of the world would improve. But that\u2019s unlikely to happen, because as we wonder around the aisles of supermarkets, we do not look these workers in the eye, and we remain unmotivated to change our ways (Source: Newton 2010 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/3363947.Confessions_of_an_Eco_Sinner\">link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-blue-orange\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>My aim was to encourage people who care about their impact on the planet to think a bit more, to question some easy nostrums, and to give them some information for making decisions. And of course I hoped to find some readers thinking about green issues in their lives for the first time. So it certainly wasn\u2019t aimed at starting campaigns or anything. And it hasn\u2019t! Actually hearing that you are using the book in the way you describe is absolutely the kind of thing I hoped it would be useful for (Source: Pearce 2010 <a href=\"http:\/\/exegeogblog.wordpress.com\/\">link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-background has-normal-font-size\" style=\"background-color:#f8f2ee\">Page compiled by Robert Black, Naomi Davies, Tom Mead, Pete Statham, Lucy Taylor and Laura Wilkinson, edited by Daisy Livingston (last updated June 2011) as part of the \u2018Geographies of material culture\u2019 module, Exeter University. Daisy&#8217;s editing was supported by a nicely paid followthethings.com internship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">AJ (2009) Confessions of an eco-sinner book review. <em>Good reads<\/em> 17 February (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/review\/show\/43073253\">www.goodreads.com\/review\/show\/43073253<\/a> last accessed 21 June 2011)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Anon (2008a) Confessions of an eco-sinner. <em>Indie bound <\/em>1 October (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.indiebound.org\/book\/9780807085882\">www.indiebound.org\/book\/9780807085882<\/a> last accessed 20 June 2011)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Anon (2008b) An eco sinner interview. <em>Green muze <\/em>3 December (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.greenmuze.com\/reviews\/interviews\/615-an-eco-sinner-interview.html\">www.greenmuze.com\/reviews\/interviews\/615-an-eco-sinner-interview.html<\/a> last accessed 21 June 2011)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Clark, S. (2010) Confessions of an eco-sinner.<em> stevenclark.com.au<\/em> 9 January (<a href=\"http:\/\/stevenclark.com.au\/2010\/01\/09\/confessions-of-an-eco-sinner-book-review\/\">http:\/\/stevenclark.com.au\/2010\/01\/09\/confessions-of-an-eco-sinner-book-review\/<\/a> last accessed 20 June 2011)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details has-small-font-size is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>+16 sources<\/summary>\n<p>Clement, J. (2008) Is local food always the best choice? <em>CFFO Commentary <\/em>31 October (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.christianfarmers.org\/main_news_commentaries\/2008commentaries\/Oct_31_Flown_In_Food.pdf\">www.christianfarmers.org\/main_news_commentaries\/2008commentaries\/Oct_31_Flown_In_Food.pdf<\/a> last accessed 21 June 2011)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Ellen (2009) Confessions of an eco-sinner book: community review. <em>Good reads<\/em> 22 June (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/3363947-confessions-of-an-eco-sinner\">www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/3363947-confessions-of-an-eco-sinner<\/a> last accessed 20 June 2011)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Gelbspan, R. (nd) Confessions of an eco-sinner: customer review.<em> Amazon.com<\/em> (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Confessions-Eco-Sinner-Tracking-Sources-Stuff\/dp\/product-description\/080708588X\">www.amazon.com\/Confessions-Eco-Sinner-Tracking-Sources-Stuff\/dp\/product-description\/080708588X<\/a> last accessed 20 June 2011)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Gordon, J. (2008) The Tree Hugger interview confessions of an eco-sinner part one.<em> treehugger.com<\/em> 12 April (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2008\/12\/the-th-interview-fred-pearce-1.php\">www.treehugger.com\/files\/2008\/12\/the-th-interview-fred-pearce-1.php<\/a> last accessed 21 June 2011)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Grant Black, D. (2009) The stuff that dreams \u2013 and nightmares \u2013 are made on.<em> The Globe and Mail<\/em> 9 April (<a href=\"http:\/\/m.theglobeandmail.com\/news\/arts\/books\/article967495.ece?service=mobile\">http:\/\/m.theglobeandmail.com\/news\/arts\/books\/article967495.ece?service=mobile<\/a> last accessed 21 June 2011)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Halld\u00f3rsson, A., Kotzab, H., and Skj\u00f8tt-Larsen, T. (2009) Supply chain management on the crossroad to sustainability: a blessing or a curse?<em> Logistics Research<\/em> 1(2), p.83-94<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Hammond, J. (2008) Confessions of an eco-sinner editorial review. <em>Library journal <\/em>133(13), p.110 (<a href=\"http:\/\/books.google.co.uk\/books?id=bOxPYFPZbrUC&amp;sitesec=reviews\">http:\/\/books.google.co.uk\/books?id=bOxPYFPZbrUC&amp;sitesec=reviews<\/a> last accessed 20 June 2011)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Leith, W. (2008) Beware the thing. <em>The guardian<\/em> 12 April (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk\/books\/2008\/apr\/12\/featuresreviews.guardianreview19\">www.guardian.co.uk\/books\/2008\/apr\/12\/featuresreviews.guardianreview19<\/a> last accessed 21 June 2011)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Loftus, D. (2008) Confessions of an eco-sinner. <em>California literary review<\/em> 21 December (<a href=\"http:\/\/calitreview.com\/1945\">http:\/\/calitreview.com\/1945<\/a> last accessed 21 June 2011)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Murray-White, J. (2008) Fred Pearce\u2019s \u2018Confessions of an eco-sinner\u2019 on where stuff comes from.<em> greenprophet.com <\/em>18 June 2008 (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.greenprophet.com\/2008\/06\/book-review-confessions-eco-sinner\/\">www.greenprophet.com\/2008\/06\/book-review-confessions-eco-sinner\/<\/a> last accessed 20 June 2011)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Newton, M. (2010) Confessions of an eco-sinner: community review. <em>Good reads<\/em> 14 July (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/3363947.Confessions_of_an_Eco_Sinner\">www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/3363947.Confessions_of_an_Eco_Sinner<\/a> last accessed 21 June 2011)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Pearce, F. (2008)<em> Confessions of an eco sinner: travels to find where my stuff comes from.<\/em> London: Eden Project \/Random House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Pearce, F. (2010) Email from Fred Pearce. <em>exgeogblog.wordpress.com<\/em> 3 November (<a href=\"http:\/\/exegeogblog.wordpress.com\/\">http:\/\/exegeogblog.wordpress.com\/<\/a> last accessed 24 June 2011)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Ramsay, N. and Wrathmell, S. (2009) Spotlight on . . . Confessions of an eco-sinner and Fugitive denim. <em>Geography<\/em> 94(1), p.58-60<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Seabrook, J. (2008) From PCs to t-shirts: the world pays for our stuff.<em> The independent <\/em>(UK) 20 June (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/arts-entertainment\/books\/reviews\/confessions-of-an-ecosinner-by-fred-pearce-850697.html\">www.independent.co.uk\/arts-entertainment\/books\/reviews\/confessions-of-an-ecosinner-by-fred-pearce-850697.html<\/a> last accessed 20 June 2011)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Steeds, B. (2009) The hidden life of what we buy.<em> Scoop review of books<\/em> 17 November (<a href=\"http:\/\/books.scoop.co.nz\/2009\/11\/17\/the-hidden-life-of-what-we-buy\/\">http:\/\/books.scoop.co.nz\/2009\/11\/17\/the-hidden-life-of-what-we-buy\/<\/a> last accessed 21 June 2011)<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details has-small-font-size is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Image credit<\/summary>\n<p><strong>Speaking icon:<\/strong> Speaking (https:\/\/thenounproject.com\/icon\/speaking-5549886\/) by M Faisal from Noun Project (CC BY 3.0) Modified August 2024<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div><p id=\"pvc_stats_2605\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"2605\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 76 34 21 21 34 44 34 59 0 14 -18 113 -40 219 -37 178 -43 195 -70 221 -36 32 -101 37 -139 11z\"\/><path d=\"M1163 3073 c-36 -7 -73 -59 -73 -102 0 -56 133 -378 171 -413 34 -32 83 -37 129 -13 70 36 67 87 -16 290 -86 209 -89 214 -129 231 -35 14 -42 15 -82 7z\"\/><path d=\"M3689 3066 c-15 -9 -33 -30 -42 -48 -48 -103 -147 -355 -147 -375 0 -98 131 -148 192 -74 13 15 57 108 97 206 80 196 84 226 37 273 -30 30 -99 39 -137 18z\"\/><path d=\"M583 2784 c-38 -19 -67 -74 -58 -113 9 -42 211 -354 242 -373 16 -10 45 -18 66 -18 51 0 107 52 107 100 0 39 -1 41 -124 234 -80 126 -108 162 -133 173 -41 17 -61 16 -100 -3z\"\/><path d=\"M4250 2784 c-14 -9 -74 -91 -133 -183 -95 -150 -107 -173 -107 -213 0 -55 33 -94 87 -104 67 -13 90 8 211 198 130 202 137 225 78 284 -27 27 -42 34 -72 34 -22 0 -50 -8 -64 -16z\"\/><path d=\"M2275 2693 c-553 -48 -1095 -270 -1585 -649 -135 -104 -459 -423 -483 -476 -23 -49 -22 -139 2 -186 73 -142 361 -457 571 -626 285 -228 642 -407 990 -497 242 -63 336 -73 660 -74 310 0 370 5 595 52 535 111 1045 392 1455 803 122 121 250 273 275 326 19 41 19 137 0 174 -41 79 -309 363 -465 492 -447 370 -946 591 -1479 653 -113 14 -422 18 -536 8z m395 -428 c171 -34 330 -124 456 -258 112 -119 167 -219 211 -378 27 -96 24 -300 -5 -401 -72 -255 -236 -447 -474 -557 -132 -62 -201 -76 -368 -76 -167 0 -236 14 -368 76 -213 98 -373 271 -451 485 -162 444 86 934 547 1084 153 49 292 57 452 25z m909 -232 c222 -123 408 -262 593 -441 76 -74 138 -139 138 -144 0 -16 -233 -242 -330 -319 -155 -123 -309 -223 -461 -299 l-81 -41 32 46 c18 26 49 83 70 128 143 306 141 649 -6 957 -25 52 -61 116 -79 142 l-34 47 45 -20 c26 -10 76 -36 113 -56z m-2057 25 c-40 -58 -105 -190 -130 -263 -110 -324 -59 -707 132 -981 25 -35 42 -64 37 -64 -19 0 -241 119 -326 174 -188 122 -406 314 -532 468 l-58 71 108 103 c185 178 428 349 672 473 66 33 121 60 123 61 2 0 -10 -19 -26 -42z\"\/><path d=\"M2375 1950 c-198 -44 -350 -190 -395 -379 -18 -76 -8 -221 19 -290 114 -284 457 -406 731 -260 98 52 188 154 231 260 27 69 37 214 19 290 -38 163 -166 304 -326 360 -67 23 -215 33 -279 19z\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/i> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p><div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>British journalist Fred Pearce travels 180,000 miles, to over 20 countries, to meet the people who produce (and sometimes recycle) the prawns in his curry, the cotton in his shirt, the computer on his desk, the gold in his wedding ring, and many others. He wants to explore his own personal ecological footprint, and to work out whether he should be ashamed and\/or proud of the impact that his shopping has on the world. This is classic &#8216;follow the thing&#8217; research. A quest narrative. Starting in the Global North. With a person asking who made my stuff?  They travel the world to meet the people who do. And then reflect on what this means for them (and maybe you) as a &#8216;consumer&#8217; and as a person like them. This is an dominant approach that critics within the &#8216;follow the thing&#8217; genre would like to &#8216;de-centre&#8217;. But what can readers learn from his travels nonetheless? Not least the multiple multiple lines of enquiry that he ends up following. Nothing is simple. <\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_2605\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"2605\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 76 34 21 21 34 44 34 59 0 14 -18 113 -40 219 -37 178 -43 195 -70 221 -36 32 -101 37 -139 11z\"\/><path d=\"M1163 3073 c-36 -7 -73 -59 -73 -102 0 -56 133 -378 171 -413 34 -32 83 -37 129 -13 70 36 67 87 -16 290 -86 209 -89 214 -129 231 -35 14 -42 15 -82 7z\"\/><path d=\"M3689 3066 c-15 -9 -33 -30 -42 -48 -48 -103 -147 -355 -147 -375 0 -98 131 -148 192 -74 13 15 57 108 97 206 80 196 84 226 37 273 -30 30 -99 39 -137 18z\"\/><path d=\"M583 2784 c-38 -19 -67 -74 -58 -113 9 -42 211 -354 242 -373 16 -10 45 -18 66 -18 51 0 107 52 107 100 0 39 -1 41 -124 234 -80 126 -108 162 -133 173 -41 17 -61 16 -100 -3z\"\/><path d=\"M4250 2784 c-14 -9 -74 -91 -133 -183 -95 -150 -107 -173 -107 -213 0 -55 33 -94 87 -104 67 -13 90 8 211 198 130 202 137 225 78 284 -27 27 -42 34 -72 34 -22 0 -50 -8 -64 -16z\"\/><path d=\"M2275 2693 c-553 -48 -1095 -270 -1585 -649 -135 -104 -459 -423 -483 -476 -23 -49 -22 -139 2 -186 73 -142 361 -457 571 -626 285 -228 642 -407 990 -497 242 -63 336 -73 660 -74 310 0 370 5 595 52 535 111 1045 392 1455 803 122 121 250 273 275 326 19 41 19 137 0 174 -41 79 -309 363 -465 492 -447 370 -946 591 -1479 653 -113 14 -422 18 -536 8z m395 -428 c171 -34 330 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src=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[195],"tags":[555,523,47,559,285,151,51,561,157,19,435,565,209,199,223,563,389,557,473,431,567,43],"class_list":["post-2605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fashion","tag-555","tag-be-the-character","tag-change-consumer-behaviour","tag-computer","tag-cross-cultures","tag-destination-uk","tag-follow-the-thing","tag-gold","tag-humanise-workers","tag-join-the-dots","tag-make-it-a-mystery","tag-origin-australia","tag-origin-bangladesh","tag-origin-china","tag-origin-india","tag-other-goods","tag-pop-the-bubble","tag-prawns","tag-publication","tag-t-shirt","tag-tell-a-story","tag-unbranded"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2605"}],"version-history":[{"count":37,"href":"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2605\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19557,"href":"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2605\/revisions\/19557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}