My views on chains

Since starting this challenge a few people have questioned my use of high street chains like Wilkinsons - which of course I have made no secret of and blogged about.

Colleagues have sneered at me for going into Primark. And more polite readers such as "Flon", have contacted me via sites like twitter to gently point out that places like Holland and Barrett are, in fact, owned by huge corporate giants (in H&B's case an American firm called The Carlyle Group).

All feedback is very welcome, and while it would be easy for me to dodge these questions by simply pointing out that this blog is called My Year Without Supermarkets - not My Year Without Chains - I feel I owe you a better explanation than that.

I realise of course that the larger a company grows, generally the more corporate its interests become and the more important it is to please the shareholders - often at the expense of its ethical concerns or suppliers.

But despite this, I don't actually believe that all chains are bad. The Body Shop, for example, uses Fair Trade ingredients in all its products, supports charities like The Teenage Cancer Trust, and is against animal testing. Lush uses recyclable packaging and is active with a huge number of national and international charities and good causes. And Holland and Barrett supports vegetarianism and runs its own 'Plan-it Green' project help the environment.

And like it or not, chain stores are massive props for local high streets, in turn helping to support smaller businesses and independent shops. You only have to look at the impact that the closure of Woolworths or HMV has had on shopping streets around the country. Empty store fronts are no good for any high street and most shopping districts (outside the indoor shopping malls) welcome the buzz created by the opening of a recognisable chain like M&S or Debenhams, which in its turn brings increased footfall to all stores in the area.

There are of course exceptions, and the mega firms behind some of the well known brands might not be quite so green or ethical. You also have to wonder how stores like Primark manage to produce their clothes so cheaply, and it will of course always be better to go into a charity shop or second hand store instead.

But my personal view is that as long as we're talking about chains that actually specialise in something - be it music, clothes, cosmetics, homeware or whatever - then these stores tend to boost trade in the areas where they operate and complement the overall make-up of the high street.

The problem I have with supermarkets is that they're a one-stop-shop, so you can buy everything from food to household goods to clothes, CDs, books and gardening gear, and by nature they tend to set up on huge plots in vast car parks, well away from other shops. So they draw customers away from local businesses and high streets. And of course because they're so huge they can then undercut others on price, bully suppliers into accepting less for their produce (which in turn has an impact on things like animal welfare), get away with dubious practices like allowing horse meat to get into their burgers, and generally just throw their weight around.

It's not an ideal philosophy and I'm aware that it won't suit everyone. But we've all got to start somewhere if we want to make a difference, and my contribution to a greener, happier planet is vegetarianism, direct debits to a handful of charities, and avoiding the supermarkets.