Green Consumerism
The environmental movement and green consumerism is in the media and public eye. As you watch the TV, read the paper and listen to people talking – the environment is an important topic for debate. It seems everyone is jumping on the eco bandwagon.
When you are shopping, how difficult is it to move away from your old favourite, tried and tested brands to try the natural and eco friendly alternatives? Perhaps your shopping habits have become stale and out of routine you pick up the same products every week. Even with internet shopping you can pre-programme your lists of brands without having to literally walk down the shopping isles and choose.
My question is why aren't we buying more green products or even demanding more of them to be sold? What is stopping the green consumer - is it habit, confusion, unfamiliarity, doubt of performance, lesser quality or lack availability which form your environmental preferences?
How can you change your buying habits?Visit farmers markets and farm shops for your produce to save on lengthy trips to the hypermakets. Fruit and veggies will always taste better!Boosts the local economy, saves fuel emissions, rejects imported goods.
Buy for quality and make products last a long time. Something that costs more will be valued more. Reject disposable products!
Be mindful of how much you buy, what you are buying and constantly reassess your shopping habits to make sure you don't buy for sake or unnecessarily. Buy smarter. Overpriced eco ranges of products are not the only option. You don't have to be a member of the eco elite to go green. Traditional ingredients for cleaning products like vinegar, baking powder etc do just as good a job as chemical products or eco cleaners.
A word of warning about buying branded eco products. These won't save the planet alone, it’s ONLY one step in the right direction.
Less buying please!The most important point to take away from this is that buying green is only part of a whole lifestyle change. To truly consider the environment and your place on the planet, think about the phrase ‘less is more’. It might be trendy to be seen to be buying green, to be a member of the eco chic and eco elite - but should we be buying more at all?
Opt out of green consumerismOpt in to a smarter green lifestyle
Option 1: Travelling 15 kilometres by car, getting stuck in traffic to go to the eco shop to buy an eco product which is manufactured in a foreign country, imported by air and distributed by road. You use only half of the product before throwing it away as you bought 2 new products for the price of 1 yesterday and are eager to try them out.
Option 2: Walking to your local supermarket and buying a non eco product which is manufactured locally. You then make the product last as long as possible, recycle the packaging and container once it has been used.
Worth thinking about!Think about the impact of simply things that you do every day, and how each action has a grander reaction in the natural environment. Then you can start looking at how to reduce your own ecological footprint.
Being a true eco consumer is to:
A. reduce how much you buy B. buy products that are good quality & last a long time C. avoid buying on impulse D. consider what you are buying - spend some time researching a product before you buy it e.g. what makes it eco friendly if it is shipped 1000's of miles from China? E. be mindful of the miles you travel in your car for shopping
F. think less is more
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