Shoe Store, Kabul, Afghanistan 1992 | Taken by Steve McCurry

After Stacy and I engaged in a riveting debate about the sustainability of quinoa the other night via whatsapp (we're hoping to conduct discussion live so look out for that), I was reminded of the sometimes mind-numbing frustrations I felt as an 'ethical consumer'. You stop buying one thing (in my case meat) in favour of another, only to find that the sudden demand for the 'other' (in this case protein alternative quinoa) has inflated prices in its native Bolivia to a point where locals can no longer afford this dietary staple. I am yet to get to the bottom of my feelings on that particular subject but felt compelled to share a similar struggle I faced when looking for new winter boots a couple of years ago and documented on my now defunct blog Musings á la Mode.

 Candidate 1: ElNaturalista Ambar Boots in Ebano featuring vegetable dyed leather, recycled rubber (and porridge) soles and a whole lot of heart