Some of us choose what and who to support with our money as opposed pretending our actions don't affect the rest of the world.
One example is that I am looking at buying a motorcycle now that I live somewhere public transit isn't very practical. I'm not buying an SUV, probably not even a car. At 30 years old, this will be my first motor vehicle.
An example focussed more on where the money goes after we spend it, as in the Paris Hilton frangrance discussion above.... As a simple example, I'll mention Curves gyms for women. I know a few women who had memberships there. Only one still does - and she is right-wing christian. The man collecting franchise fees from each gym turns around and uses that money to financially support organisations which are actively anti-woman (in my opinion, obviously): one example of what these 'charities' do is trying to make all abortions illegal. I hope I'm not crossing a line by mentioning something political here, and I will not enter into a debate about his politics or mine.
My point is this: I am not comfortable with my money ending up in his hands, and I encourage women who have memberships or are considering getting memberships to take a look at what happens with some of the money they are spending and then make an informed choice as to whether or not to purchase one.
I recycle, I reduce the environmental impact I have from transportation, I try to be informed about where my money goes whether I'm talking investments (not with tobacco companies, etc, thanks) or luxury goods.
I'm not suggesting anyone not test, or even not buy, the fragrance. The shoplifting point is an interesting one from a moral standpoint, but I won't get into that here! Not wanting to admit you are wearing something by Paris Hilton, or liked something by Paris Hilton, is very different from not wanting to spend money on one of her products.
