Hello and welcome to Trend UK, your shortcut to popular culture from the British Council. In the next few minutes we’re going to be asking whether you’re after value for money when you’re shopping for fashion; or fashion that’s made with values. We’re all after a bargain on the high street. But how often do you stop to consider how some stores seem to stock low-cost/high fashion items quicker and more cheaply than others? Fulfilling our needs for fast fashion means increased production and competition in clothing made in countries with low-wage economies. Our reporter Mark has been to the high street to find out more.
各位觀眾，大家好，歡迎來到《英國文化》，在這里你能快捷地獲取來自英國文化協(xié)會的流行文化，在接下來的時間里，我們將詢問到你在購買時尚品時是優(yōu)先考慮價格還是價值。在繁華的商業(yè)大街我們都是討價還價的，但你有多少次想過為什么有一些商店能更快地貯備到低成本的最新時尚品并且以比同行更低的價格出售呢？滿足我們對最新時尚品的需求意味著低薪的服飾制造經(jīng)濟體更高強度的生產(chǎn)和更激烈的競爭。我們的記者馬克前往繁華的商業(yè)街搜尋更多資訊。

Here in a typical British high street there are plenty of bargains to be had. Handbags at ￡3.99, T-shirts for a fiver and shoes for under a tenner - all roughly equivalent to the price of an everyday meal. But how many of the people shopping in this high street have stopped to think about how it’s possible to sell clothes so cheaply? Is it because some companies are turning a blind eye to the exploitation in the countries where these items are made? Ruth Rothelson is an expert on ethical shopping from the Ethical Consumer Research Association, who amongst other things produced the magazine ‘Ethical Consumer’
現(xiàn)在我已經(jīng)來到了典型的英國繁華商業(yè)街，這里有數(shù)不盡的特價商品。手提包只要3.99英鎊，T恤五英磅，鞋子不用十英鎊就可以買到，這些商品都大約相當于日常肉類的價格。但是有多少在這里購物的人真正想過為什么這些衣服這么便宜呢？難道是因為一些公司盲目搶占國內(nèi)市場嗎？路斯?羅瑟遜是來自道德消費研究協(xié)會的專家，除此之外還是《道德消費》雜志的創(chuàng)辦者之一。

Ruth, just tell us what the Ethical Consumer Research Association is.
“路斯，跟我們談?wù)劦赖孪M研究協(xié)會的性質(zhì)吧?！?/div>

OK, well the Ethical Consumer Research Association exists to provide information for shoppers, letting them know what the companies are doing behind the brands that they see on the shelves.
“好的，道德消費研究協(xié)會主要是為消費者了解服飾公司在品牌背后的運作流程提供信息。”

So what makes an ethical shopper?
“怎樣才能成為一個合格的道德消費者呢?”

Very broadly speaking, people who are concerned about ethical issues want to know that the product they’re buying hasn’t been made at the expense of the people who are producing it, whether it’s in this country or abroad. They might also be concerned with other kinds of issues: whether the company is involved in armaments, or whether they’re donating money to certain political parties. And that as a shopper, you might not want to give your money to that party so therefore you might not want to buy a product from a company who is supporting a political party that you don’t agree with.
“一般來說，那些關(guān)心道德風(fēng)尚的人們會想要知道國內(nèi)外的低成本產(chǎn)品制造是否以犧牲員工利益為代價，他們也想要知道，公司是否涉及捐助武器制造，是否以財力資助一些政黨組織。作為一個消費者，你并不希望你的錢通過這樣的途徑流向那個你不支持的政黨組織?！?/div>

And is there any kind of rule of thumb? Is something that’s more expensive, for example, likely to be more ethical?
“是否有經(jīng)驗法則讓我們能夠辨別是否符合道德消費清楚提供依據(jù)呢？產(chǎn)品越昂貴是不是意味著它更符合道德規(guī)范呢？”

Unfortunately it isn’t always the case that the more expensive something is, the more ethical it is. We can buy very cheap products and it’s very likely that when products are cheap, something has suffered in order to get it to us. Whether it’s the person making it or the animals or the environment. Quality however, is often a good indicator whether something, especially with clothes, has been made well. And unfortunately a lot of ethical products will cost more because they reflect the real cost of bringing that thing into the shops. So something that has been made in a factory where the workers have been paid a proper wage will cost you more to buy, simply because the people making it are getting paid enough to live on.
“很不幸的是這種情況并不是必然的，雖然我們可以買到便宜貨，但這些產(chǎn)品到達我們手中的過程中可能損害了多方利益，不管是制造這些產(chǎn)品的員工，還是動物、環(huán)境，都會遭受磨難。質(zhì)量是最有說服力的因素，特別是對服飾來說。很不幸地，很多符合道德的產(chǎn)品會消耗更多，因為它反映了產(chǎn)品的真實成本，所以你會花費更多，因為制造這些產(chǎn)品員工也是需要足夠的工資生活的?！?/div>

Do you have to be well off then to be an ethical shopper?
“成為一位道德消費者需要很富有嗎？”

It really depends. You don’t have to be rich to be an ethical shopper. One way of thinking about ethical shopping is thinking about buying less. Sometimes we buy an awful lot more than we need. We buy more items of clothing than we need. So being an ethical shopper really means thinking a bit before you go and spend your money in the shops. Some things may cost a little bit more in the short-run, but be worth it in the long-run. If you are paying for quality, something will last you longer and then save you money. And sometimes you can buy things second-hand. There’s a lot of charity shops on the high street to buy good clothes. Sometimes you can look a lot better than someone who’s just bought off the high street because you can have quite a unique look, and the quality that you find in most second-hand shops is really very good these days. So it’s about thinking before you shop.
“這要看情況而定。你不一定要很富有才能成為一個道德消費者，有一個途徑就是能夠做到少買。有時候我們購買的東西遠遠大于我們的需要，我們購買了超出我們需要的衣服，所以要成為道德消費意味著你在購物之前要考慮清楚。有些商品讓你在短期內(nèi)的花費較多，但從長期來看是值得的。如果你注重質(zhì)量，你購買的東西能持續(xù)使用更長時間，這樣能為你節(jié)省開支。有時候你可以購買二手貨，現(xiàn)在在商業(yè)街有很多的慈善商店出售質(zhì)量很好的衣服。穿上你淘來的衣服有時候讓你看起來比那些在其它商店購買的人還要好看，因為你的裝扮看起來與眾不同。還有，現(xiàn)在你能夠在大部分的二手店找到質(zhì)量不錯的商品。所以，在購物之前要權(quán)量好?！?/div>

Thanks Ruth. Now among the shoppers here I’ve got Lauren and Bella. Starting with you Bella, would you consider shopping ethically?
“感謝路斯與我們分享這么多，現(xiàn)在我在購物人群中找到勞倫和貝拉。貝拉，先從你開始，你會考慮做到道德消費嗎？”

Definitely for food. And clothing, well, when I buy clothes I wouldn’t want to think of them being made in a sweat shop.
“對于食品來說是必須的，至于衣服類，我對于它們是否來自小工坊沒什么在意。”

Lauren you do shop ethically. But you’ve got a slightly different take on it haven’t you.
“勞倫，你確實做到了道德消費，但你對此有不同的看法，對嗎？”

Yeah I suppose I shop ethically but my original thing for that was that I like to wear clothes that are different from everyone else. So I would start shopping for vintage clothes. So ethically, obviously they’re second-hand so…also I buy a lot of clothes from market stalls, from fashion students maybe. So they’re all made here, so they would be made ethically as well.
“是的，我能夠做到道德消費，但我希望我所穿的衣服能夠與眾不同，所以會開始考慮購買復(fù)古服裝，即使它們都是二手貨，有時候我也從市場里的小貨攤或者那些時尚的學(xué)生那里購買衣服，所以它們都是以道德標準生產(chǎn)出來的?！?/div>

Thanks Lauren, thanks Bella. Well it’s an interesting debate, and I’ll certainly be doing my clothes shopping with a little bit more care in future.
“感謝勞倫和貝拉與我們分享她們的觀點，這真是一個有意思的討論，以后我會在購買衣服時多加謹慎?！?/div>

Our reporter Mark, out among the dedicated and ethical followers of fashion there. And that’s it for this time. Please remember that the opinions expressed in Trend UK are those of the individuals concerned, and not necessarily the views of the British Council. Don’t forget, you can find out what the British Council is doing on contemporary UK by using your local British Council Information Centre or by checking our website , that’s hcouncil [all one word] .org. Just follow the links under ‘Contact Us’. And while you’re on the website you can also update your English by checking out the words and phrases in the Trend UK online glossary. And tell us what you think by sending us a comment or voting in the online poll. But for now, from me and all the Trend UK Team, bye bye.
我們的記者馬克也是忠實的和道德的時尚追隨者。今天我們要分享的英國資訊就這么多，請注意，在《英國文化》中所傳達的只是個人觀點，與英國文化委員會無關(guān)，還需注意的是，有關(guān)英國文化委員會目前的職務(wù)，你可以咨詢當?shù)禺數(shù)赜幕瘑T會信息中心，或者登陸我們的官方網(wǎng)站, 注意是hcouncil（是一個連接在一起的詞匯）.org，點擊“Contact Us”這個鏈接可以與我們?nèi)〉寐?lián)系。在我們的網(wǎng)站，你可以通過在線辭典查找單詞和詞組來提升你的英語技能，你還可以通過評論或者網(wǎng)上投票向我們表達你對我們的看法或提出意見。感謝您的參與，感謝《英國文化》的制作團隊，下次見。

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