• Responsible Shopping

• Most travellers will buy something during their trip, usually some souvenirs or presents to take home at least if not something for themselves. The responsible traveller will consider issues associated with their purchases just as with any other aspect of their trip. The biggest two are, perhaps, as follows:

  Prohibited Items

  Some products may be prohibited by law in the countries you visit. Often this class of items includes antiques and illicit drugs.

  Other products may be banned by international agreement and, even if legal where you buy them, you may not be able to take these home. Products made from animals, endangered or not, can fall into this category.

  Some products may not be acceptable for posting or for carriage on an aircraft. The obvious items on this list being weapons and harmful materials.

  If you do buy prohibited items they will almost certainly be confiscated. You could also face a fine, imprisonment or deportation.

  Other items may not be prohibited but their purchase would encourage an activity which should not be supported. For instance, something that requires undue physical risk to collect, or something made by slave or child labour.

  Bargaining

  Bargaining is not only acceptable it is pretty much required in any destination where tourists and travellers go. The aim here is not to tell you how to bargain but only to raise the issue of 'rules'.

  There are no rules as such - nothing written and nothing that anyone can enforce. However, there are social norms and from experience of both sides of the issue (I live in a tourist town in China and see bargaining done badly all the time) I'll summarise these as I see them:

  1. The over-riding rule is that when you state a price then you must follow through. If the seller accepts you can't have second thoughts or trying a lower price. That just ain't fair;
  2. From that it follows that you should only start bargaining on items you intend to purchase. The seller has a living to make. Don't waste their time; and
  3. Keep it polite. Bargaining is a sport for gentle-folk; it need not be too competitive and should never get heated. The point is to reach a price that both can accept, and there is no right price that has to be reached.

  A more subtle issue was already raised on the main Responsible Travel page. Who benefits from your purchase? Since that is rarely clear cut it is often wise to spread your purchases around so that there is more chance that the benefits will be too.

  Go (back) to the main Responsible Travel page.

  You may want to go straight on to:

  • Responsible Travel in a temple or mosque
  • Responsible photography
  
  
  
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