Something that a lot of people are concerned with these days is trying to become more ethical in how we approach our consumption habits. As a consumer of a wide variety of products, you need to make sure that you are being sensible in the ways in which you buy products and what kinds of products you do actually buy. You can think of each penny you spend as being like an economic vote towards what kind of world you want to live in. So how can you make sure you are being a much more ethical consumer in general?
Image Credit - CCO Licence
Read The Fine Print
You can find out a lot about a product or service you are using by simply taking the time to look at the fine print on the packaging, or on any literature that might come with it. You have to remember that this is fine print for a reason - in other words, the company generally doesn’t want that information to be in the front of your mind, and often that’s because there is something there that you might not approve of. Once you start reading the fine print, you might find that you have a lot more challenges as a consumer, but you will be doing the right thing and moving in the right direction.
Check Out The Packaging
Ideally, everything you buy should be encased in packaging which either comes directly from the Earth in some natural way, and in an unharmful way, or which is easily and entirely recyclable. What you really want is to avoid having to throw items in the bin and ending up in landfill, and while it might not be possible or viable to get rid of this entirely, you should be able to do away with it to a large degree. Make sure you are thinking carefully about the packaging of all products you buy. Image Credit - CCO Licence
Look For Sustainable Materials
As well as the packaging, you want the product itself to be made of something sustainable, if possible. There are usually alternatives you can look to if you want to aim for buying sustainable materials, so you should absolutely make sure that you are trying to do that as best as you can. For instance, hemp products are usually going to be much more sustainable, so you will be able to feel better and be a better consumer if you are using those products.
Research The Company’s Supply Chain
How the company you are supporting treats their supply chain is one of the most important things of all. You want to support businesses which have supply chains that rely mostly on local sources and don’t require too much energy to be used up, where possible. If you can do that, you should find that it makes a huge difference to what kind of products you are using and ultimately you are going to be casting your economic vote much more kindly for the planet. Do that, and everyone is going to benefit.
*contributed post*
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