What are 'ethics'?

The dictionary definition of 'ethics' is:
moral principles or a set of moral values held by an individual or group
- Collins New Edition English Dictionary

The underlying 'ethic' of this site is:
'to do things not at the expense of others'.

That means not being selfishly motivated in relationships, career, home-life, pass-times, hobbies, or anything else! This is perhaps the easiest principle to accept, and the most difficult to practice. Why is that the case? Here is one example:

If you need some new sports-shoes, and you have money in your pocket, you go to a store that offers a selection of sports-shoes. One pair on offer has a 'high-status' brand name, another pair has no label of note. You heard on a recent news bulletin that the brand name associated with the prestigious label had been responsible for using child labour under awful conditions. You know that the un-labelled brand were produced in your locality. Which do you buy, and why?

Do you buy the branded ones, becuase you wouldn't be seen dead in anything else, even though you know they were produced by child-labour? Do you buy the unbranded ones, because you feel a moral duty to protect the children who produced the branded ones from exploitation, and anyway, you would rather the investment was made locally?

What about the fact that the payment made to the children for their work may be the only money coming in to their family of eight people? Does that mean you should support the profits of a large multi-national organisation just because it is the only way to help their exploited child-workers take responsibility for feeding their entire family? What about the fact that the local supplier actually imports their sports-shoes from the same source as the multi-national brand? The local supplier may not have the benefit of the brand label, but they dont have the business overheads either!

Ethical issues are seldom as easy as they seem at first sight. To adopt a moral stand-point means no longer to accept easy options or easy choices. Can you live you life truly ethically? Do you tell all suppliers of things which you consume what is, and is not, acceptable to you? Well, do you?