Ethical Consumerism
Posted by John Draper | Filed under Smart Shopper
Do your ethics ever come into any of your shopping decisions? There are several new trends in ethical consumerism. The 100-mile diet is just one example. People choose to spend more on their groceries to buy products that come from within a 100-mile radius, reducing the transportation impact on the environment and supporting local providers.
A girlfriend of mine from long ago refused to buy coffee in a particular chain because she claimed they were putting all the neighbourhood coffee houses out of business. She didn’t like their coffee either.
Another girlfriend of mine refuses to shop in North America’s largest retail store because she believes they are bad for home-grown businesses and take the shopping out of the downtown cores of many smaller communities. Never mind that she has to pay more to shop locally. She’s committed to supporting her local venders.
Both these women participate in what is sometimes referred to as the Moral Boycott. If you watched the movie Blood Diamonds and then swore you’d never buy another diamond, you’re participating in a Moral Boycott. Ditto if you won’t buy Adidas products because they use kangaroo skin in their footwear, or if you refuse to drink Coca-cola because you object to their depletion of groundwater resources in India.
Moral boycotts work. It was ethical objection that brought apartheid to an end in South Africa. And Consumers Voting with Their Dollars is working every day to change the way in which companies operate. According to ethicalconsumer.org, this year Donna Karan and the DKNY brand came off the boycott list when US workers in supplier factories came to a settlement with the company over their claims of discrimination and failure to pay minimum wages or overtime.
Ethical consumerism is just as much about support the work of “good” companies as it is about beating the “bad” companies into submission. Whether you choose to buy products like energy saving lightbulbs, or favour one company’s products over another’s because of that company’s strong commitment to the environment, fair work standards, or ethical trade, you can vote with your dollars.
Ethicalconsumer.org also has a series of free buyer’s guides that can help you learn more about which companies are offering ethical options, and which aren’t. From audio/visual products to baby food, from health and beauty to household consumables, this U.K. site gives manufacturers an ethical score.
Sometimes telling the good guys from the bad is hard. Since ethical consumerism is a growing trend, companies are now “greenwashing”… posturing on their ethical standards without really doing things differently. But many companies are reacting to demand and pursuing more ethically and environmentally sound business practices.
Ethical consuming alone may not always achieve what you’re looking for. Becoming more conscious of what you’re buying, and how much, can be the key. And since during tough economic times we’re all looking for ways to cut back on what we’re spending, the objectives of being financially sound and ethically responsible can dovetail quite nicely into “buy less.”
Okay, your turn. Have you ever chosen one manufacturer over another for ethical reasons? Are there stores you won’t shop in, and why? Do you believe that your $1.92 can make a difference?
FYI, ethicalconsumer.ca and thedailygreen.com are two other sites you may want to check out.
October 31, 2008 at 6:45 am
I (also) refuse to shop in Walmart, and spend my money elsewhere. I’m not sure that it makes a significant difference, but I would rather know that my money does not support a company that doesn’t provide fair wages, pushes small businesses out of business, and makes suppliers go bankrupt while attempting to meet the demands of this mega-corporation.
Sometimes a cheap price is not the best price, which is why I choose ethical consumerism.
There are some who will buy things from Walmart and then return everything, as a way of saying they “don’t support the practice”, but that doesn’t solve anything. In reality, it just produces more stuff (and who needs that).
Speaking of “stuff”, I would suggest watching The Story of Stuff (about 20 minutes) if anyone wants more of a reason to not purchase things they don’t need – http://www.storyofstuff.com/
With Christmas coming, and a slowing economy, I think right now is when dollars are really going to count – I personally feel that my family has more than enough stuff, and give donations to charities or something personal for gifts, rather than spending a lot of money on things that will just end up tossed or forgotten about.
October 31, 2008 at 8:40 am
Great post Gail. I do this for food mostly. I try to buy my fruit and vegetables locally. During the summer I went to a farmers market or my local little market and bought my produce. I chose to pay $1 more for strawberries if they came from Ontario. I buy fair trade, organic coffee, and basically will try to buy food that is grown or made in canada if I can (unfortunately mangos aren’t local). I refuse to go to Walmart. Yes, they may be cheaper but that price difference is paid for by the staff (underpaid), by the producers they buy from (hello china and India where they only make pennies), and by the other local businesses they put under. Everyone pays the price.
As for greenwashing – this is so true, especially for cleaning products. It is important to read ingredient labels. Generally, I go to a store like Grassroots here in Toronto to pick up Natureclean cleaners, etc. Do your research online if you aren’t sure.
I try not to buy kimberely-clarke tissues b/c they use virgin forests and I really don’t need a virgin forest to wipe my nose.
Maybe my choices aren’t noticed by the companies, but if you more and more people do it, they will be forced to change if they want to stay profitable and competitive.
October 31, 2008 at 8:51 am
My immediate family chooses not to shop at WalMart, no matter how good their prices are. The fact that they would rather give low prices to consumers and pocket huge profits while their employees can’t make ends meet is something I can’t support. I understand why they don’t want unions in their stores (no flames please), however if they treated their employees properly and fairly their employees wouldn’t feel the need to try and become unionized.
October 31, 2008 at 9:13 am
If you truly feel that you can’t shop at Walmart because they don’t pay enough to there workers then you would not shop in any of the store in your local mall. If you went into any retail store you will find people making minimum wage just like at Walmart. Gas stations too and what about restaurants that are paying servers wage which is only $7.60 an hour in Ontario…minimum wage is $8.75.
October 31, 2008 at 9:24 am
I personally choose not to shop at Walmart because of the frustration factor. They purposely put less people on cash after the store is established (sister-in-law works at one, so I know what I’m talking about). This encourages people to continue milling about the store picking up more things and then coming back to the cash to hopefully find a line-up that’s less than earlier.
Besides all that, the quality is terrible, the parking lots are always jammed full, and everyone seems to be wandering aimlessly, like sheep, probably because they’ve been forced back into the aisles to buy more crap because the cash line-up was too long 30 minutes ago. My time is worth money, and spending more than 10 minutes in-line any time of day (Christmas excluded for obvious reasons) is an absolute waste of my precious and expensive free time. *climbing off my soap box for today*
October 31, 2008 at 9:42 am
I’m glad you brought this up Gail, especially given that in your early posts, the point of view you were giving was one of thrift rather than ethical – i.e. going for “standard” vs. organic groceries. Ethical consumerism is definitely a way of “voting” but using cash to do it – too bad this doesn’t work with politics where politicians use our cash to sway our vote.
I expect many negative comments on Wal-Mart on this post, and rightly so. They do some things I wouldn’t want to support. However, coming from the supply chain side of the business world, people have to give some credit where credit is due. W-M has an microscope on their global supply chain and have tightened and even pioneered processes that other companies have even adopted. If it wasn’t for their “low-balling” techniques, service would be poorer and prices in general would be more expensive – even for “ethical” companies. Just thought I’d throw that out there.
Also, even though W-M does kill small businesses, especially in smaller towns, you also have to consider that all W-M had done is force smaller businesses to define who they are. The ones that have thrived are the ones who focused on niche markets and improved customer service. It’s just an adaption game. W-M leaves holes that smart entrepreneurs will fill.
But yes, as a rule, I do not shop there.
Keep posting on this topic everyone! Some good info being brought out, like the whole virgin forests for tissue paper…something I didn’t even really think of, although being a guy, I barely use paper products. Anyways, keep’em coming!
October 31, 2008 at 10:20 am
It’s interesting that you posted this now Gail as I was going to ask everyone how they felt about buying organic/free trade over the cheapest groceries available. My grocery budget tends to be a bit high for one person because I try to buy the cleanest food I can: no pesticides, chemicals, preservatives etc. and unfortunately they always cost more. I find it interesting that products with all-natural, minimal ingredients cost more than the ones that contain 25 ingredients I can’t pronounce. I have done blind taste tastes and I can absolutely tell the difference between organic and non-organic, espcially meat. So I just don’t eat a lot of meat and when I do, I buy the organic and stock up if it’s on sale. In the summers I always go to a Farmer’s Market which tends to be much cheaper and has a couple of organic vendors. It makes me crazy to have to decide whether I can afford to eat good food and there’s rarely coupons for the good stuff.
October 31, 2008 at 10:24 am
Apparently Lise and I share the same brain. I agree right down the list with everything she posted. She is the only other person I have heard mention a Kimberly-Clark (Kleenex) boycott. They are cutting down Canada’s boreal forest to make Kleenex and Cottonelle, and I never buy their products.
Walmart, of course, for many reasons: they screw their employees, their suppliers and their competition. That may be their right, but I don’t have to give them any of my money. Also, they may be one of the largest contributors to off-shoring the production of absolutly eveything to China, and I am sick and tired of the lousy quality and outright dangerousness of the crap that’s for sale.
We try to buy local produce when it’s in season. If we buy imported fruit, like bananas, we get organic. If I drank coffee it would be organic (no pesticides), fair-trade (living wages), and shade-grown (so the migratory birds have a place to migrate to).
The more people move away from mindless consumerism, the better for everyone. Before you buy the cheap orange juice, remember that oranges are one of the most pesticide-heavy crops in the world. Maybe the few extra pennies for organic is worth it. Maybe I don’t need the $7 dollar T-shirt that was made of conventionally-farmed cotton (possibly THE most pesticide-heavy crop) by someone who was paid a dollar for a whole day’s work.
I vote with my money as often as I can.
October 31, 2008 at 10:57 am
Interesting – so where do you shop? From my experience in retail all department stores are run the same and sell similar products as Walmart. So where do you buy clothes? house hold items? bed linens? shoes? If I boycott Walmart I also have to boycott Sears, Zellers, Giant Tiger, Dollarama, Bargain Shop, the shoe store, Reitmans, Bootlegger, etc. What is left? Even the merchandise in the second hand store originated in one of these stores. I cannot think of one store in this town that sells home made, home grown clothes.
I find in the grocery store I have obvious choices – but no options for these other places.
October 31, 2008 at 10:58 am
Hi there, I also am trying always to buy local (markets in the summer/fall), milk from Harmonia (you can return the bottles and they just refill them – a lot less waste) etc.
We have switched to Bullfrog power which provides electricity from 100% renewable resources (wind, clean hydro etc).. it’s very easy to switch, just go to their website and fill out a form. It costs more (81 cents per kw) but I think it’s worth it. They’re connected to the grid, and basically they pump into the grid whatever you use, so no setup is required at all.
But my biggest issue has been investing for my son’s RESP. I am very conflicted on it. Part of the portfolio (about 10%) is green. I’ve bought the new TD sustainability fund… and a few others.. but they’re not doing well and I’m afraid to waste the money of his education.. I want to diversify his portfolio but still keep it green.. any ideas? I’m only buying mutual fund indexes because of the high commission on buying stocks… (0 vs. 30$).
October 31, 2008 at 11:42 am
Sally, you bring up an interesting point. Like others have said, Walmart is any easy target because they so huge and omnipresent. As for your question – I don’t shop at dollarstores, giant tiger or zellers. I buy organic cotton sheets and will eventually buy organic wool comforter from a local retailer. Clothes, well, that is very difficult. Practically nothing is made in Canada and local Canadian clothes tend to mean Canadian designers and $100 for t-shirt. As for shoes, well, I’m in the market for new winter boots and I’ve been eyeing “La Canadienne” boots which are twice as expensive than the made in china boots, but if I save money between now and December I’ll be able to afford them and support a montreal manufacturer. But that’s a choice I make.
I think that is what it boils down to. I certainly can’t afford to do everything local, 100% canadian, organic etc, but I can try to do this in certain parts of my life and gradually make changes. Maybe it means not buying a bunch of cheap bed sheets each year, instead buy one good quality organic cotton set that I take care of and use longer. And the boots are very good quality (I know my last pair from that brand lasted 8 years) so I don’t need to buy a new pair every winter.
Interesting discussion so far…keep posting. Everyone has made good points.
October 31, 2008 at 11:51 am
Absolutely. My priority list go as follows: local, organic, fair trade, other. I’ve always tried to support local businesses, whether it’s food, clothing, furniture, or other. Often the quality is much better, even if it is more expensive. And the jury is still out about local vs. organic. Organic is great and I love it, but if it’s being shipped halfway across the world, the environmental impact is still substantial.
Using Brona’s $7 t-shirt example: tried that, the t-shirt didn’t last 1 year. I’ve also spent $25 on a t-shirt and it lasted over 5 years. Same with furniture. Once bought a $200 fibreboard and veneer coffee table that started to fall apart in under 2 years. Next one was Canadian-made solid wood, over $800, but going on 6 years and if it doesn’t get handed down to one of the kids, I’ll be surprised.
October 31, 2008 at 11:54 am
re: Ioana — you are not really paying $0 commission on mutual funds. Your mutual fund manager is taking an *annual* 2 – 3% cut off the top on your returns, called an MER that does not show up in your statements. That one time cost of $30 may look more attractive in that light, but there’s big differences between buying a stock and buying a mutual fund which consits of many stocks however.
On the subject of the posting – I’m embarassed to admit that since becoming a father my ethical stand has taken a beatdown and am now found occassionally in (horrific) the walmart checkout queue where once I was not. My wallet and my heart fought it out and my wallet is winning more and more.
October 31, 2008 at 11:59 am
Some very interesting questions and comments here. One challenge in attempting to boycott less-than-ethical corporations is the extensive supply chains that are a part of every single item you buy. I discovered this while doing research for a graduate paper I wrote a couple of years ago on CSR. For example, say you buy a pair of running shoes from Company X. Let’s assume they have factories in China, and have a strict ethical policy of fair wages, etc, and they monitor all their factories carefully. But then of course they have several parts supplied to them by other companies, Supplier A, Supplier B and Supplier C. So Company X has to ensure that Supplier A, who operates in Singapore, is producing their parts ethically, and so is B and C, who operate in Vietnam. But Supplier A gets some of its parts from Supplier D, in India. So Company X has to ensure that those parts are ethically produced. And their suppliers. And then there are the companies who provide logistics and transportation. And so on. Do you think Company X is going to try to follow down this complex supply chain and monitor business practices of other companies all over the world, or rather, assume consumers will never figure this out and just enforce good policies in Company X factories?
Many products we buy are not produced in one location, by a single company, making it very difficult to monitor and trace every level of production.
I like Gail’s idea of focusing on companies that you really feel you can trust. Maybe that is the way to go, instead of trying to weed out the ones you can’t trust.
October 31, 2008 at 12:15 pm
I am a label reader…. it took us 2 years to find a BBQ that we could afford that was MADE IN CANADA. I support buying products from nations I believe in, and of course, Canada is the top of my list!
Food is another thing I try very hard to buy local. In BC we have a thriving hothouse grown produce selection. It was only recently that I noticed the “BC Hothouse” label has fine print!!!! On some of the bell peppers I noticed in teenie-tiny print under the BC label “product of Mexico”. Oh I felt DUPED!!!! (Even when you think you are buying local, they throw a glitch in it).
In my neighbourhood there is no quality local grown farmer’s market, no fish market, you can’t even buy meat right from the farm anymore… in fact, roadside fruit stands aren’t even permitted! Around here food has been regulated to the finest detail squeezing out local, small production food sources. all of these fabulous resources were lost a long time ago by supermarkets. Very tragic.
October 31, 2008 at 12:57 pm
I don’t believe that it is more ethical to buy Made in Canada just for the sake of it. Chinese and Indian workers have just as much claim to jobs as Canadians do, and if they can make competitive products for less, good for them. And before someone says “you’d think differently if it was your job” or some similar tripe, I work in an outsourcing-heavy profession, but I accept that I am not more valuable just because I was lucky enough to be born in a rich nation. If I’m more expensive to hire, I need to be worth the money. And being paid pennies in a less developed country like China is not such a problem when you take into account that the cost of living is much lower there.
October 31, 2008 at 1:49 pm
Excellent post Gail!
There are so many angles you can look at this subject. Just by talking about it, we are getting new ideas…but it is so hard to know about every country and company’s work practices.
My one (but not only rule of thumb) is to buy Christmas Gifts and Birthday gifts with little or any packaging. We make cards and we reuse, make our own wrapping paper if we have time, and this is the first time in 5 years I bought a package of rolled of wrapping paper (which should last 5 more)
I wonder how much Walmart’s garbage disposal would cost this year if every child’s Christmas gift was taken out of the package and left at the cash? I bet it would make a lot of children happy not to have to wait for their parents to take off every piece of plastic holding down Barbie’s hair or tie holding their toy car in the right place, so they can play with the new toy.
October 31, 2008 at 1:59 pm
I absolutely believe in moral consumption. The biggest thing I do is to go out of my way to buy things used if they are available used. This cuts down on waste, as well as keeping my dollars out of evil corporate pockets (especially since most consumer products are not made or priced with a second run market in mind). After that, there are some companies, like Wal-Mart, that I honestly do think are worse than others and boycott for that reason.
October 31, 2008 at 2:24 pm
Interesting comments. I used to live in England (6 years ago) and I can tell you Europe generally is scads ahead of North America. I was shocked at how uninformed and quite frankly ignorant people were regarding ethical consumerism when I first moved here.
It is challenging trying to find ethical ways around a lot of the crap sold here. We don’t shop at Walmart or most major chains. We buy food from a local co-op that we joined plus a local health store in the area. We do buy some stuff from loblaws but try to make it green, organic and only buy what we absolutely need.
I buy most of my clothes second hand from value village. At least then clothes get repurposed even if they originated from developing countries with poor working conditions. I only buy new clothes when I absolutely can’t find what I need – and then I just have to buy what’s available which is a pain. But I seek out stuff that meets my values where I can.
I think people here severly underestimate the power they hold in their consumer choices – if everybody put a little bit of effort into supporting companies which were kinder on the environment and on our lives generally then we would all be better off. At the end of the day it’s also about future generations (so we don’t buy kleenex tissues either – why should future generations suffer the loss of the boreal forest?) – what kind of world do you want your children to have and there children also?
Plus, something Mr Harper just doesn’t get is that there are HUGE economic opportunities for companies wanting to be more environmental and green.
It’s also a hell of a lot healthier. For eg, an awful lot of attention is given to fundraising for a ‘cure’ for cancer. But very little attention is given to cleaning up carcinogens from the environment.
Right I’ll get off my soap box now! I do recognise that not everyone feels they have a choice with what they can afford to buy (especially if they are living on minimum wage – but there’s another point, why are companies allowed to pay minimum wage to employees who cannot live on it? and then the government subsidises this?). However, I feel far more people in Canada prefer to turn the other way and not look at the impact of their everyday buying decisions – sure, you have to do a bit of research but the more that people change their purchasing habits the more companies will have to respond. In North America we live in a culture of cheap consumerism and everyone suffers for it.
October 31, 2008 at 2:56 pm
It’s not just the ethical reasons for buying local, it is environmental as well. If it is made here then we have a good idea of the laws that are applied for protection of the workers and the surroundings, and there is the huge transportation impact as well. Buying used is even better from that standpoint as the transactions are VERY local and usually support charity or at least local families, and an item re-used doesn’t use more raw resources!
October 31, 2008 at 3:21 pm
I do support local businesses for some things but I’m sorry, if Walmart has the cheapest diapers (or whatever) and I need them, I’m going to buy them there. I think Walmart is an easy target for people but I doubt most of the other major retailers are much better. I think the key is to not buy too much crap, just buy what you really need.
October 31, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Ultimately..I’m going to do what’s best for OUR pocketbook. I know it doesn’t “feel” right but I’m smart enough NOT to be employed by Wal-Mart and the like. I shop there when I need to do because it is so darn cheap! I feel bad for the workers but comeon, if the store wasn’t there where would the worker be? Another retail giant?
It sad to admit, but I go where I can get the best deal because I’m looking after the best interests of my family…I won’t boycott certain places because other people have chosen to drop a resume and agree to be hired there.
I don’t buy CRAP (anymore) so when I’m there I’m truly getting what we need to purchase and for a good deal. : ).
October 31, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Hi Gail!
I’m sorry to use this as a forum for a general question, but your guestbook was unavailable on the website.
I am big fan of Til Debt Do Us Part, and I think I have picked up lots of great tips from the show that I’ve been able to use every day. So far I have been able to pay down 12% of my $12K debt in about three months, so thank you for that!! But I have a couple of questions for you…
I am fairly new to the blog, but I couldn’t find anything about Tax-Free Savings Accounts. I would really love to learn more about those from a real person’s perspective, not just a government or banking website, before they come out in 2009.
I am also wondering if you have any suggestions for people trying to boost their income? I have been applying for a second job left, right, and centre, and seem to be having zero luck, and a little trouble thinking outside the box. Any tips would really be appreciated.
Thanks!
October 31, 2008 at 5:57 pm
Just a quick comment on the Product of Canada. CBC Marketplace did a show on what the term Product of Canada really means. It doesn’t meant that the food was grown/produced in Canada. All it means is that 51% of the production costs occurred in Canada. It was a shocking show. The Highliner plant in the Martimes wasn’t even using fish caught from the ocean right beside it. The fish were caught in Russia and shipped to Canada for processing. Unless you grow it/catch it yourself you can’t trust that the food is actually from Canada.
Here is the website if you want more info. http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/product_of_canada_eh/
October 31, 2008 at 8:36 pm
A food-for-thought example:
A bunch of shephards, each with their own plot of land, allow their sheep to graze on the greens of their land. But also, there is a piece of land owned by no one, but has lots of grass available. Shepard #1, looking out for his best interest, decides to let his flock eat a little from this open land, not thinking that his action will have much affect. Afterall, it’s a large field with plenty of grass. Shepard #2 sees this open field and thinks the same – “I’ll let my sheep eat from this field too as there is so much grass.”. This thought process goes on with all the other shepards as well. The end result is that everyone’s small action results in the open field being stripped bare of its grass.
This is an example of an economic principle called the “tragedy of the commons”. The theory being that materials that are consumable and bares no direct cost to the individual consumer results in complete consumption of that good.
Michelle1, your comment shows the problem with human nature in general – “…I go where I can get the best deal because I’m looking after the best interests of my family…”. The reason why W-M is such a powerhouse is because that is exactly peoples’ thought process. W-M offers such low prices, it would be in anyone’s best interest to shop there. W-M, while deplored by so many people, has built an immense empire with enough global power to control every supplier that wants to do business with it (numbers game afterall) and even govenments. If in the USA, the government decided to raise the minimum wage requirements for all states, who do you think would be the first at the door to lobby against that possible law? And guess who would be successful?
Obviously, W-M is no different than other retailers or fast food establishments in that they all pay the same minimal wage and so on. But the difference is that because so many flock to its stores, the mass of individual consumers have given the corporation more power than is healthy for a society.
October 31, 2008 at 9:21 pm
For everyone that claims they only buy organic products, there was an interesting program on CBC (it might have been on Fifth Estate or Marketplace) where they looked into a variety of organic products as claimed on their labels and it was reveled that products are not 100% organic. I don’t trust any product out there claiming they are 100% organic. Also, I have family members that are managers in the retail industry (not big box stores) and the wages are the same as Wal-mart!!
October 31, 2008 at 9:27 pm
This is an area that I think most of us struggle with. Personally, I like Walmart and other big box stores. I to am looking out for my wallet & family.
I can’t fix all of the worlds problems so I’m focusing on what I can control. I am happy to buy local whenever I can FIND it and AFFORD it. When I shop for groceries I try to avoid too much packaging and buy recycled/green whenever posible. I choose local products & produce over imported. And I focus on buying quality over quantity.
What I think is more important for me is stepping back and asking myself do I REALLY need this? Am I buying just for the sake of buying? Am I buying this just because it’s on sale? I’m trying to be less wasteful.
When I buy furniture I try to buy either used or local. I’ve had several items made and they were affordable and will last me a lifetime plus.
Thankfully my city is building a new Farmers Market that will be open daily instead of just Saturday mornings. This will really open doors for people to buy local. The current market is limited hours and very crowded. Plus the developers are creating the space to be green with wind turbines and a grass roof and solar panels. I’m so excited to see the vision become reality.
October 31, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Take a look at this 20 minute video and you may just change your mind about how and where you purchase.
http://www.thestoryofstuff.com
It may be a little on the extreme side, but makes a great point. Consumption, the environment, human rights… it’s all very connected. Whether we like it or not, how we think about all these things needs to change.
October 31, 2008 at 11:01 pm
I love this post -
I equate it to the whole democratic process going on in the U.S right now.
When it comes to our power as a consumer, we think it doesn’t matter.
Just like we may get to lazy to participate in the election -
Saying, “Why should I stand in line for hours? My vote doesn’t matter!”
We need to stop giving away our power -
WE DO HAVE POWER AS CONSUMERS … AND AS CITIZENS OF A DEMOCRACY -
The thing is …
We have to choose to participate!!!
October 31, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Erran- I agree with you 100%. I really do : ).
At the end of the day though, I’m happiest when I’ve saved money on certain items that is ridiculous to pay more for across the street. I don’t buy crap or low-end goods. We own big-ticket furniture& appliances, we both have nice vehicles & a nice home and the like, and we don’t have crazy-racked up debt! because we are savy in other areas. We have kids and if W-M has a sale on what I need, I’ll buy it there to keep that extra in my pocket even if I don’t agree with their practices.
We might be contributing to the delpletion of the green grass but we also do ten-fold in redusing waste, reusing, and recycling. I’m just talking from a strict dollar perspective.
October 31, 2008 at 11:30 pm
Ethical consumerism:
Did you know that credit card companies charge for use of their services?
They often charge businesses 1-2% (and are talking about an increase to this fee) of the amount put on the card. So the business owner makes less money or charges you more to make up for the fee.
So you don’t agree with credit card policies but you use them for the rewards? Something else to throw in the pot of thoughts!
November 1, 2008 at 1:31 am
The one other thing I”ve been meaning to write about this blog post is the degree to which a company can be considered ethical (or unethical). It’s not straight-forward. Does the company produce harm on the environment, how do they treat their workers, but, also, what are the effects of the products they produce? For example, the production of disposable needles is a God-send in distributing vaccines in developing countries while reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS – it is life saving. But disposable needles end up in landfills. Does the environmental waste outweigh the life saving benefits? A company can treat workers really well, and be environmentally responsible, and create a product that is still harmful in other ways – and vice versa. So, when determining whether or not a company is “ethical” you want to consider all of these factors, not just where the products where made. It’s a tough call.
November 1, 2008 at 7:36 am
Great article, Gail and thank you. To all, thank you for the excellent points and perspectives.
My take on ethical consumerism is not to “over consume”.
I believe abundance is having enough – not more than enough stuff.
When I spend to fulfill a “need or want”, I try to spend wisely.
I purchase non-grocery items such as clothing, shoes, gifts, books, linens and housewares from thrift stores. The money I spend in these shops is used to support community projects (local church and hospital thrift shops), or larger humanitarian endeavors (Salvation Army).
I live in a rural town, so I try to support local companies and have a membership with the local Co-op. We have a local abbatoir, farmers market, ads for local producers of just about anything one could want. For items like dried legumes, I found a supplier in my province who sources his suppliers from local, regional and national suppliers.
I try to support Canadian manufacturing (thrift store items are the exception, but I still do source some “Made in Canada” items). Since the ’70’s I have expressed concerns over the lack of secondary and tertiary manufacturing in Canada.
Today we have outsourced so many jobs and our economy is unbalanced because of it. I cringe when I hear reports of job creation, because the statistics never include the wages/salary range or the nature of the jobs (usually low paying, limiting jobs). The numbers just get run up the flag pole and everyone cheers.
Foreign countries, such as China gladly took that jobs that Canadian (and American) companies were only to happy to export. Lower production cost = more $$ in their greedy pockets. Abundance applies to business – enough is enough, but sadly many chase the siren call of unlimited profit margins.
The evolution of this industry drain is that now China is very heavily polluted and is under pressure to deal with the industrial pollution and unwanted by-products while maintaining a low production cost. So, we have lead in paint and melamine in food.
Please folks, do NOT buy any items out of China trimmed with fur (e.g. around hoods of jackets). The World Humane Society has information on their website about the use of dog fur and the brutality behind it.
Perhaps our leaders need one of your budget sheets Gail – (with a few category revisions) to get us back on track so that we can pay fair wages and create the manufacturing jobs we need to build a truly sustainable economy.
November 1, 2008 at 12:36 pm
I absolutely believe in the Moral Boycott. As a former Interior Designer/Feng Shui Consultant I simply refused to recommend my clients to big box stores. Instead I hit the streets for about six months to gather earth friendly and local resources in all areas of home decor, furniture and re-modeling. After about a year, my book of resources grew substantially and I was not only serving as a conduit for ethical products and services, I was serving as a educational agent of change and promoting the local economy. There was nothing more rewarding. Thanks for this important discussion. –Cheryl Janis, Author of Planet Pink n Green (.com)
November 1, 2008 at 2:32 pm
I just wanted to say how incredibly heartening it is to hear how conscientious people on here are about all aspects of consumerism. It gives me so much hope for the future after the usual onslaught of bad news about the environment!
I have a couple of thoughts to add:
1) One of the best courses I took in university was an ecological economy course. An important lesson was that our current economic system has left some very important factors out of how we determine the true cost of goods and services. For example, if we actually calculated the real cost of global warming into the price of gas, very few of us would be able to afford to drive. Instead, we base our prices on the idea that the planet has infinite resources and an infinite capacity for absorbing all the waste we produce. There is abundant evidence that neither of these ideas is at all true. There is potential to use market forces to change our destructive environmental consumer nature, but only if we start to account for the cost of cleaning up after hurricanes, losing the polar ice caps, trying to provide humanitarian relief to war-torn regions, etc. I don’t think Wal-mart, or any of the big box stores, would be so cheap if we actually paid the real price of “stuff”.
2) Ioana – Do you know about Citizen’s Bank of Canada and Ethical Funds? They are an online credit union that practises ethical banking. The Ethical Funds aren’t perfect, but they are certainly a step in the right direction. I bank at Citizen’s now and have been very happy with their products and service. They compare with ING for good interest rates and they have things like micro-credit term deposits, so your money earns interest, but is also being used to help a third-world woman get her business started. If you do enough research, there is always some dirt on everyone, but my husband and I feel like at least this is a company that’s trying. The effort is worth supporting.
November 2, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Anyone interested in ethical investing might want to go to my site. It’s one of the most popular ethical investing sites and uniquely covers the latest related global news and research as well. It’s at http://investingforthesoul.com/
Best wishes, Ron Robins