Shopping Responsibly
Check it out folks, Co-op America is a great organization with a wealth of resources for green living. One of my favorite tools on their site is the Responsible Shopper page. Look up various retailers and companies to find out the buzz behind the smoke and mirrors of good marketing (cough, Target). The site covers good topics like complaints, ethics issues, labor practices, animal testing, legal action, and much more.
Responsible Shopper @ Co-op America
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Comments
~Amy~
And yet, they are not similarly derided.
I am generally more favorable to a "punk frontier" ethic to a hippie/yippie one, however. As much as activist attitudes seem appealing on some levels, I greatly dislike being told my practices are evil because my limited and fixed income just *cannot* afford politically mindful small business shopping.
What is my response? Food is an easy one. Although it might be called "using my friends", I go to them and pick from their fruit trees and offer a cut of the take when necessary. I have a tradition of juicing Concords most every year, and I have several options when storing and preserving various fruits. Apples late in the fall usually go into storage, being preserved in the cold night air; other fruits tend to be canned or possibly dehydrated. I'm even nuts enough to buy pumpkins cheap around Halloween and render them down to homemade pie filling!
Shopping at farmer's markets will be easier once I finally start receiving Social Security benefits. I can only afford to do this on a limited basis, however, as I must basically pay the cut the grocery store would normally take. If farmers can haggle, however, I'll try it. No, our local markets do not take food stamps :(
For retail items, of course there are thrift stores, yard sales, etc. We have not only the Classifieds in the main newspaper, but several classified ad publications. I try to browse them every now and then.
I am trying harder to learn the ways of DIY for more things. DIY auto repair is a bit out of reach at an apartment that will not allow it, much less a garage or neighborhood street of my own, but my Haynes manual is waiting and ready. My computer is already a Frankenstein of parts that have been handed down or bought wholesale. I tried vermicomposting but failed to execute it well in an apartment.
Much of this solution is presently called "Simple Living". I call it "old-fashioned frontier ethic". (Wear it out, use it up, or throw it out.) I realize that this is not all practical for working folks with busy lifestyles, but I must ask that it be presented as a viable alternative.
I've always been a fan of the Reduce/Reuse/Recycle mantra. If you're going to consume, try to limit it. Always reuse (as you mentioned yard sales) when possible. It really is true that one's junk is another's treasure. Recycle everything. Lately I've even gone as far as choosing products packaged in paper or glass rather than plastic (even recycled plastics never really go away).
I saw something recently about how more and more farmer's markets are allowing the use of foodstamps. I don't think that mine does, but maybe it's something you should bring up with the people in charge.