the average consumer, given the current economic structure, is going to go with cheap and dirty over expensive and clean

Absolutely, which makes ethical consumerism a privilege for those who can afford to spend more money. Which is fucked up, because being ethical should not be the privilege of the rich.

I do try to buy organic and fair trade products whenever I can, but often the discrepancy in price between them and 'conventional' products is simply not economically viable on a small budget. as for household recycling etc, people will do it if councils make it easy to separate recyclables, but a household doesn't produce anything near the waste that a company does.

I remember springheel_jack writing a good entry some time ago about the rift between hard core environmentalists and socialism, which was very interesting and I think drew attention to many of the ideological differences. However, to be really concerned about the welfare of human beings should include a concern for the environment because a healthy environment makes for healthier humans.