Power to the Purchaser!

And we’re back with a quick post about responsible shopping.  Using the existing economic forces to show we care about our environment and social causes is one of the quickest and best ways to begin changing our world for the better.  I’m not saying things shouldn’t change on a large scale with the way capitalism is currently running, but while we’re doing that, lets utilize the positive side of what we already have.  For an example, I hate buying shoes, or spending time buying clothing of any sort really; I wear things into the ground as much out of laziness as I do because of frugality or a responsible lifestyle.  So when I must buy shoes, it makes sense that if I have to put in the effort, I should put in the effort to do it well.  My latest purchase is a from the Oboz brand, partially because they were on clearance (yay) and also because the company plants a tree for every shoe they sell (double yay).  Check out their in-depth ethics program here.  A while back I also received an excellent gift of Guyot Designs MicroBites Utensils from a family member.  Love of sporks aside, the gift would be well thought out for any conscious consumer as the small spork and spatu-knife set (which are light, handy and click together in a possibly postmodern spoon spooning? Anyhow) are actually carbon negative to the tune of 25 pounds CO2 through the company’s purchasing of carbon offsets.  This is in addition to using sustainable labor and a closed loop waste cycle.  While on the subject of gifts, I should mention that I am definitely a child of the suburbs, and as such have had a long love of Stuff.  Learning to live with less and avoid impulse buying and receiving has not been easy for me, but I have found joy in one great alternative: the gift of donation.  In either giving or receiving, donating to a good cause is a way to show you care for a person, a cause and avoid cluttering life with things we don’t really need.  You can send your loved ones a gift of carbon deposits, charity donation, or one of my personal favorites, purchasing livestock to assist families in the developing world through Heifer International.  Besides the fun of having your name attached to a goat in Africa, Heifer makes sure the recipient families know how to care for their stock/ flock and achieve increased independence and long-term financial improvement from your gift. Who said responsibility had to be boring?