How To Be A Conscious Consumer

How does your consumption affect the world around us? What part do you play? And how heavy or light is your footprint? Every time we make a purchase, whether we are aware of it or not, we are voting with our dollars. We are saying to the economy yes this is ok. And when you think about it like that, it's so important (now more than ever), that we are making conscious choices as consumers. The votes we cast with our dollars hold with them tremendous power to change the world, and it starts with YOU. 

Conscious consumerism is defined as a social movement around increased awareness of our purchasing decisions and the impact they have on our planet, our health and our economy. 

Why is conscious consumerism important you may ask? It's important in so many ways, particularly for the health, wellbeing and longevity of our planet and fellow humans. It's important for preservation of our environment and the health of the people in it. It helps protect the vulnerable; the employees and workers that are being taken advantage of and working in horrid conditions. And on the flip side it fuels the fire of authentic, reputable, do-good companies to thrive. Once you open your eyes to it, it is impossible to see otherwise and there are so many ways in which you can be a conscious consumer and use the power of your spending for good. 

Ways you can be a conscious consumer:

• Start small; it's in our human nature to feel overwhelmed and not do anything at all, but take action even if it's baby steps. Use one less piece of plastic this week, consciously weigh up one item, even at the grocery store, just being aware of your impact is step one and an enormous step in the right direction

• Know your brands; do your due diligence and research the brands you are spending your hard-earned dollars with. Become aware of certifications and standards of ethics in various industries and look for those when making purchases or tossing up between brands. Find out everything you need to know about the company you are about to invest your purchase dollars with and make sure that you feel good about spending your money and putting it into their business. Before pulling the trigger on your purchase, stop and sit with all the information gathered for a moment, check in with yourself and ask how you feel, let your conscious guide you. 

• Invest in quality products; whilst it may be more of an upfront investment in the short term, in the long term you are in fact saving money in the long term because good quality products last longer than fast, disposable purchases. Quality over quantity stands the test of time. 

• Reuse / recycle; do your part at home and reuse, recycle, be conscious of food waste and ditch single use plastic. 

• Make mindful choices; mindfulness is an important part of life in so many ways and it’s a resource to tap into when purchasing. Conscious consumerism aligns with a minimalistic approach, ask yourself if you 'need' it, and allow the answer to that question help you make a conscious, informed, decision about your purchases.

• Support small brands; now more than every in the midst of COVID-19 it is extremely important to support your small, authentic, artisan businesses - our purchase dollars count and can really make a difference!

• Check labels; go natural, look for natural fibres and eco-friendly materials that aren't leaving a negative impact on our world and when it comes to health remember that less is more. This applies to the length of ingredients lists and the length of the words featured; if you don’t know what it is or can’t pronounce it, generally it’s best to avoid.

• Take part in meat-free Monday, to put it simply, reducing meat consumption makes a significant dent in not just reducing our carbon footprint, but also in animal cruelty.

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We hope you have found these tips helpful today to start, or build on, your journey with conscious consumerism. We’d love to hear from you too, what are your tips for conscious consumerism? And please share any of your favourite ethical / non-toxic / eco-friendly brand recommendations!