Now I’m cross. I have been asked by my son’s nursery to bring in a white Tshirt for him to put footprints on for a charity walk that they are doing next week. At the bottom of the poster advertising this request was a footnote saying ‘Tesco’s do them for 75p”.

This presents me with a dilemma. My son does not already have a white Tshirt, I need to buy one. I do not feel prepared to go and source a Tshirt that I am happy with in order for him to graffiti it and wear it once. But seeing an article of clothing with a price tag of 75p immediately sets alarm bells ringing in my mind. How can it cost 75p? At the moment I know nothing about the clothing industry, but if I break down the processes that at least must be involved – the growing, harvesting and shipping of the cotton, dye, labour costs in the making of the shirt, export & distribution costs, profit for the retailer – the maths just do not add up. I can’t buy that shirt because it is cheap. It must have cost somebody somewhere dearly.

But here’s another thing that bothers me – why does this thought process not occur to those around me, or to society in general? Why is the only factor in considering a purchase how low the price is, with no thought for the consequences. I’m sure it is not simply that people don’t care. It feels almost like some brain-washed ignorance, as if Joe Bloggs has been hypnotised: ‘I must only consider price. I must not look beyond’. I want to know what it will take to click the fingers to bring him out of this trance.

I expressed my concerns at the nursery. I don’t think they will be asking parents to bring in cheap white Tshirts next time.