That year Easter was April 5, a whole two weeks earlier than this year, and snow had lingered in the front yard. I posed the eggs with a couple of Dollar Store decorations, and the result is rather pretty, I think.
But this morning I'm wondering about the little gimcracks. What were the working conditions of the people who turned them out? What is the environmental footprint of shipping them across the ocean (because I'm sure they came from China)? Why did I think I was so clever to make Easter egg dye, but didn't think about the ethical implications of the rest of my little mise en scène?
The contradiction continues. The grandkids will be over tomorrow and I bought little Easter bunny headband/hats for them yesterday at the same Dollar Store. I've sure they'll like them because they love the Santa reindeer ones I bought a few years ago. But I made my purchase without thinking of the people (perhaps children) who may have been working in a sweat shop to turn them out.
What to do? Be a more thoughtful consumer, first of all. After that, I'm not sure. One argument runs that buying things from poorer countries will ultimately raise the standard of living there. Another is that such purchases should not be made. Certainly I'm not going to throw out either the bunny ears or the little chicks (which I still have, they last quite a long time if you only bring them out once a year). Doing that would just be more wasteful. And in the immediate future--like 10 minutes from now--I'm going to dye some more eggs red with onion skins.
Happy spring time holiday, whichever one you are celebrating, right around now.
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