Can the Royal Show be done in an ethical and eco-friendly way?

On Friday we braved the rain and the crowds and hit the Royal Show. I decided to use it as an opportunity to research the following question: can the Show be done in an ethical and eco-friendly way?

The answer is that it can be approached in ethical and eco-friendly ways, at least.

Here are some of the ways:

• take public transport
• bring packed food in reusable containers
• avoid the sideshows, rides and showbags
• spend time at the exhibitions and tastings

Of course, that makes for a very boring Show! I went with my husband and 13 year old son. We struck a balance. We brought our own food and went to the exhibitions and tastings. Although we walked through the sideshows and rides my son opted to use his money for showbags instead. He bought about three showbags. My husband and I also bought some things but our stuff mostly came in reusable or recyclable containers.

All three of us enjoyed walking around and looking at various things. My muso son loved that we happened to be in the Goyder Pavillion when the Police Band was performing so we watched them for awhile. I loved seeing Fair Coffee - a stall selling organic Fair Trade coffee. There are alot of big companies that promote at the Show. However, I really like it that small local companies can, too. I sampled some Australian made skin products that I hadn't heard of before.

In the general scheme of things, I'd prefer to do something else with the money than go to the Show but I didn't feel like I spent all that time making a mockery of the Footprints Project.