do we have a right to cheap stuff?

A customer called me today and informed me that our shop was still being listed as a dealer for "Brand X" bags, 3 1/2 years after our co-op had made the decision to stop carrying their product. We'd made the decision because we decided that we would try to promote, where possible, products made in countries where fair wages and good working conditions were the law of the land. This meant that we could no longer sell bags made in China or most of SE Asia. So out went "Brand X" from our inventory.

Obviously, we cannot make this decision with everything we sell. Case in point: All of the inner tubes in the entire world are made in one of TWO factories, and neither is located in what would be considered a fair-wage country. So we're SOL as far as inner tubes -- and most tires -- go. But when and where possible, our shop chooses to promote products made in our local region, or the US, or a fair-wage country. So today, we are sitting on some very nice US-made bike bags that aren't selling very well -- because they cost noticeably more than the bags offered by "Brand X".

When the customer asked why we stopped carrying "Brand X" and I explained it to her, she thanked me and said she would look for another store that would sell her the bag she wanted. "I think your policy is out of step with the real world," she told me, "and I would invite you to reconsider it. If you don't sell affordable things no one will shop there."

Which leads to my quandry: Do we really have a right to demand and expect cheap stuff? And if we don't, why are corporations and governments acting as though we do? And now that we've started this cycle and developing countries are following our lead to perpetuate it -- who's going to try and stop them from having their turn at rampant prosperity and consumerism?

I am really wrestling with my work these days, and wondering if I could possibly do it in a way that makes it any more appropriate (for society and the planet). Today I am having my doubts.