How to Approach This

I have a friend who sometimes comments on this blog. I enjoy his comments because he usually raises challenging and thought-provoking questions for me to ponder and answer. Thanks to his questions I find myself having to clarify in my own mind the reasons for doing this and the way in which we do it.

The driving force behind Footprints is me. I felt I was very fortunate that the family were keen to join me in the project. Their involvement has made it easier all around. Involving them on my journey has made me aware that the choices we make and what we do, need to be such that we will all stick with it. I think we could be doing more and better. However, teenagers are great at paying lip service to things but grumble when it actually comes to doing it. (Or maybe that's just mine.) Consequently, I walk that fine line between keeping them on-board and becoming a ethical/eco "nazi". Therefore, we've come up with what works for us as a family. This is something I'm passionate about and want the family to be passionate about. I want it to be a long-term commitment. To that end, I don't want to be walking around with a metaphoric cat o' nine tails flagellating myself and anyone else I don't think is trying hard enough.

That brings me to a conversation Teenage Daughter had with someone from The Ethical Consumer Guide. She interviewed him for her school research project which is looking at how aware teenagers are of buying ethically. She asked him what he thought was the best way to get young people on-board and be aware of the impact of their shopping choices. He answered that she simply needed to be passionate and positive, and her enthusiasm would be contagious.

Our family could be doing better and maybe we're not actually making a difference. However, I'm passionate and I'm sharing that passion through this blog. Hopefully some of my readers will get excited by what we're doing and do so themselves.

Cheers.