A CONSCIOUS CONSUMER

WHAT IS CONSCIOUS CONSUMERISM? 

Conscious Consumerism is when all your purchases are determined by the impact the products may cause

 Socially

Economically 

Environmentally. 

All the stages of a product's existence – production, packaging, use and disposal need to be taken into consideration BEFORE a purchase is made or even before it goes on your wishlist. 

In the last decade or so, global environmental crisis has taken centre-stage, and consequently, consumers are finally becoming "conscious'. With this, brands all over the world are now trying desperately to woo this conscious consumer with more sustainable products while struggling to keep their profit margins high. 

IMAGINE! Just by being aware, a group of conscious consumers are able to drive entire industries to act sustainably and answer the world about their processes!

Social media has played a large role in bringing about this awareness. Videos on fast fashion, articles on cruelty to animals, news flashes on exploitation of human resources in third world countries, unethical laboratory tests, etc. The list is endless. The consumer cannot play innocent any longer.  He cannot hide behind the wall of ignorance, pretending that his choices do not affect his brethren in a far off land. 

We all breathe the same air, we use the same water and we live on the same soil. As we have seen in recent times, the virus that began its work in one small province has consumed the whole world, shocking us out of our socks. 

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a classic example of our collective contribution to the mess we are now in. (The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is part of the five offshore plastic accumulation zones in the world’s oceans and is located halfway between Hawaii and California. It covers an approximate surface area of 1.6 million square kilometers – an area twice the size of Texas and three times the size of France.)

Ocean advocate Ben Leconte swam 300 nautical miles through the Great Pacific Garbage Patch on World Ocean Day 2019. 

10 Ways 

You Can Become 

A Conscious Consumer. 

Incorporate minimalism into your life as much as possible. (Distinguish between necessary and unnecessary purchases.)

Choose to buy from companies that put planet and people first. 

Buy fair trade products.

Buy earth-friendly products. 

Buy cruelty-free and plastic-free products. 

Limit travel to public transport, sharing vehicles, biking or walking. 

Go ZERO WASTE. 

Eliminate the use of single-use plastic items. Buy reusable and durable items. 

Reuse or repurpose what you have and buy secondhand whenever you can. 

Recycle paper and plastic, dispose of old clothes responsibly and consider composting at home. 

The more consumers DEMAND ethical, organic and fair trade products, the more commonplace they will become and the more cheaper and affordable. With a shift in trends, manufacturers will have to meet these demands to survive and thus sustainable products will be easily accessible to everyone. 

Unfortunately, even though people want all this, they make compromises based on pricing and convenience. We do not take the long term consequences of our choices into consideration. We need to change this mindset. 

Take, for instance, the fashion industry. We see cheap, trendy fast fashion all around us. We do not see the mountains of waste that is the outcome of our shortsightedness. 

Sustainable, reusable and durable circular fashion is what we need to promote and push. This will produce far less textile waste which finds it way to landfills. 

So, let's take baby steps and build from there. Do your homework before buying. Keep in mind where your purchase will finally land up and you won't go wrong. Also, calculate your price per use of every item you buy. If you find that you are paying far more than you actually need to, dont buy it. Make do with something you already have which may do the same job. 

Let's be 

CONSCIOUS CONSUMERS,

 not

 CONVENIENT CONSUMERS.