Lately, I have been struggling to figure out how to be a socially conscious individual, while maintaining some level of a care-free and enjoyable lifestyle. It seems like every choice we make on this earth affects someone. For instance, buying jeans has meant that some human being on another continent has been exploited at the cost of my comfort and trendiness. Going to the local starbucks to get a cup of coffee, or hitting up a walmart to recieve roll-back prices means that someone somewhere is paying the price for it. Now that I am aware of this reality, how can I go on living like before? What do I do about it? Should I live in guilt for being a Canadian and living in luxury? Do I just pretend like my clothes are sewn by some magical happy elves who have a fettish for making jeans? I don't know right now...I hope that these questions turn into answers, and then the answers turn into action. My girlfriend recently wrote out a list of fair trade shops around winnipeg, consisting of restaurants, clothing shops, coffee shops, and much more. Perhaps it is through baby steps, such as supporting fair trade, that the global problem of human exploitation will cease to exist.