Why? Because, put very simplistically, free trade can hinder the poorest nations (often those producing the cotton and the goods in the first place) from raising themselves up out of the poverty mire.

It’s an oversimplified argument to say that consumerism causes poverty (at least where China is concerned). Consider, though, that according to a recent Verdict survey, £1 in every four we spend goes on cheap, chic disposable “fast” fashion.

Then consider that one-sixth of the world’s population are involved in the production of one of the fundamental elements of that industry – cotton. And a large proportion of these workers have no job security and do not make a so-called “living wage”.

Awareness is growing that what we buy can have an impact on not only our planet but other humans thousands of miles away. This year, for the first time, spending on ethical products such as Fairtrade coffee and ethical travel overtook spending on cigarettes and alcohol, according to the Co-operative Bank’s annual Ethical Consumerism report.

If the trend continues, and it looks like it will (consumers spent £29.3 billion last year on “ethical” goods), phenomena such as fast fashion could disappear as quickly as they arrived. This kind of counter-revolution has already occurred in the food and grocery market, with the organic food business now worth £1.2 billion per year.The recent announcement that Sainsbury’s will now sell only Fairtrade bananas underscores the point.

Conscience consumerism is not just about where stuff came from, though; it’s also about knowing you can make a difference by buying one product over another. Project (Red), launched by Bono, is a collaborative effort by American Express, Armani, Gap, Converse, Apple and Motorola to combat Aids, malaria and TB in Africa.

A percentage of the profits go towards the fund. On other fronts, Ali Hewson has launched her Edun range, dedicated to upholding Fairtrade practices; Timberland plants a tree for every pair of boots sold; Silverjet, the first entirely carbon neutral UK airline business, has just launched, and Tesco has announced that it is to work with eco-crusader Katharine Hamnett.

Charges of green-washing abound. Are these companies simply paying lip service to a trend, in defence of their bottom lines? Conscience consumerism presents the potential for hypocrisy on a global scale.

When Green & Black’s chocolate was bought by Nestlé, detractors said the deal was simply a sell-out. Body Shop owner Anita Roddick came in for similar criticism when she sold to L’Oréal.

M&S chief Stuart Rose commissioned a YouGov poll to see which way the Fairtrade wind was blowing, and found that 78 per cent of shoppers wanted to know more about how and where products were made. Would M&S be planning to sell more Fairtrade socks, jeans, coffee and T-shirts if the figures were less favourable?

A recent Times/Populus survey suggests that, in fact, most of us are not as green as we might like to think, with 40 per cent of Britons doing nothing in terms of reducing energy usage. Whichever way you cut it, though, conscience consumerism is empowering the customer. The last time they felt so in charge was when they pelted Camilla Parker Bowles with bread rolls in Chippenham Sainsbury’s.

2006 was the year that video on the web went mainstream, but what were people actually watching? Click here to see The top 10 YouTube videos of 2006

Read more from A Year in Ideas here:
It's the videos, stupid
The return of realpolitik
Green tipping point
Bossy TV
Science fights back
Sporno
Proustian sports channel
Barbarians back at the gate
Global spa-ification
Graphic novels
End of the blockbuster
Bad Russians are back
Rock'n'roll is dead, long live rock'n'roll
Fashionable adoption
TB or not TB
The new clubbing
Bistrodeluxe
Wikitravel
Return of the musical