ABSTRACT
The UK boasts that it is a leader in environmental sustainability. The UK imports a high proportion of the goods and services it consumes, and when we count the carbon emissions used to produce these imported goods, the picture is much less rosy. If we look at the fashion sector as an example, 60% of all the jobs supported by the buying of UK clothes are in China, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. The collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory, which was producing clothing for UK fashion brands such as Gap and H&M, caused the deaths of over 1000 workers. The UK is causing higher emissions than may arise if goods and services supporting the UK lifestyles were made in the UK itself. The part of the picture that is not so clear is that, through its high imports, the UK is giving employment to workers in other, often less developed countries, and these countries benefit from the associated income.
