Confessions of an eco-sinner : travels to find where my stuff comes from

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Ever wondered if declaring support for fair-trade and then chucking Kenyan beans from your shopping trolley to reduce food miles really added up? Or whether the women in Bangladeshi sweatshops really want you to stop buying the clothes from their sewing machines? Or how the system works when you dump stuff but never buy from a charity shop? While none of us should stop trying, it was never easy being green. Mindful of his footprint, Fred goes in search of the source of the cotton in his shirt, the prawns in his curry and the people who grew, mined or made all his stuff in an attempt to discover the true story behind our everyday things. This compelling story of his travels moves green thinking on to a new, more sophisticated plane. Acclaimed veteran science writer travels from the market down his street to the ends of the earth in search of the true story behind all his stuff and what his 'footprint' really means...Like many of us, Fred Pearce works hard from a city base, cares for his family and tries fitfully to do his bit for the planet. But travelling across the world to track his personal 'footprint', he finds himself questioning an extraordinary number of accepted truths. Perhaps his well-intentioned efforts are not so good after all. Should Kenyan green beans go right back on his shopping list? Should he stop campaigning for a clean coastline and start shouting, 'Save wildlife, sh** on the beach'? While he's at it, should he be cheering for Bangladeshi sweatshops too?In search of the source of the cotton in his shirt, the prawns in his curry and the people who grew, mined or made all his stuff, Fred travels from rainforest to desert, up mountains and down mines, from oil field to shanty town to brothel. Yes, he finds squalor and despair. But also he finds good things in surprising places and huge opportunities just waiting to be seized. This compelling story of Fred's travels challenges a range of green assumptions, moving green thinking on to a new, more sophisticated plane. Ever wondered if declaring support for fair-trade and then chucking Kenyan beans from your shopping trolley to reduce food miles really added up? Or whether the women in Bangladeshi sweatshops really want you to stop buying the clothes from their sewing machines? This title attempts to discover true story behind our everyday things. 'Confessions of an Eco Sinner' describes the author's journey from Liverpool to Alaska, from Dubai to India and the Far East to discover the source of the shirt on his back, his phone, his beer can and Saturday night curry, his wedding ring and the paper he writes on