What is sustainable consumerism? After participating in Crunchy Chicken’s “Buy Nothing Challenge” during the month of April, I acquired (ha, ha) a new awareness of my personal consumerist habits. While it may seem an obvious outcome to many of you, I had not consciously confronted how my ego influences my material desires. For example, my mother and mother-in-law paid us a visit during the first weekend in May. Our house was partially painted, somewhat decorated, and showcased many a bare wall. As time came closer to the weekend of their visit, I panicked. I insisted that my husband and I do something about our bland home decor. “We need to paint! We need a decent looking bed cover!” My husband, never one to notice the color on the walls or what covers our bed, told me not to worry, but still, he accompanied me to Home Depot where we purchased no-voc paint. Score one for my sad consumerist ego.
In confronting and admitting to the reality of my desires to shop, acquire, and own things, I explored the question of whether or not shopping can ever be a good experience not just for my benefit but for the environment and the global community’s too. What I learned is that I am not alone in my worries about the overwhelming trends of consumerist culture. Mary Beth Gonzalez, an iVillage blogger, describes the double-edged sword of being able to purchase environmentally friendly products in her post “Green Anxiety.” She explains her enthusiasm and yet is repulsed by it: “Now, with so many new green companies and products launching, I’m like a kid in a candy store finding new green treats everyday online and in local stores. Green television programming, websites and blogs surround me. Organic tee shirts, bamboo pillowcases, non-toxic nail polish, natural hair color, sustainable sofas… and I want it all!”
Want is the key word, for this Green Mamma. Consumerist culture “wants” us to “want” things rather than think about whether or not we truly need the items we lust after. Gonazlez reveals her awareness of how a desire to live in a green way can be thwarted: “As excited as I am about all the fabulous new green products on the market, I’ll aim to just buy what I need, not what I want. And every day, I’ll just keep doing my best.”
All products, from the toothpaste we use in the mornings to the glass mug that holds a warm cup of milk in the evening, affect our environment. The Global Development Research Center defines green consumerism as:
“ the balance between the expectations of consumer behaviour and businesses’ profit motives - within the orbit of environmental protection. It is increasingly calls upon to look at the entire life cycle of a consumer’s purchases - because a consumer does not just buys ‘a’ product, but also everything that went into its production, and everything that will happen in the future as a result of that product.”
Today’s green consumer is considered an “informed” consumer who is mindful of environmental concerns and is working towards protecting the earth by making conservative purchases. Dave Tilford, in a thorough article written for the Sierra Club and titled “Sustainable Consumption: Why Consumption Matters,” negotiates solutions for coping with a consumerist culture, suggesting that consumers simply ask themselves questions before making a purchase. Important questions include:
Where does a particular product come from?
What are the working conditions like for the person or people who created it? Did they receive livable wages?
From where were the raw resources harvested or mined? And what impact has their extraction had on the natural environment and nearby communities?
What are the real costs of this product, factoring in the costs borne by people, the environment, and future generations?
Tilford suggests easy ways to avoid making purchases; for example, borrowing tools from neighbors and repurposing items allows us to make use of the earth’s resources without unnecessarily taking more from the earth than what is needed.
When I ask myself the questions Tilford poses, I find it easier to live with the choices I make each time I swipe my credit card or hand over cash. As a walk this potentially oxymoronic path of being a green consumer, I will consider where my daughter’s toys and utensils come from as well as whether or not the workers behind the scenes receive a living wage and are treated fairly. I also want to know how the environment and the local community are affected by the items that I “want.” I realize that this means that the price of products I purchase may increase, but perhaps over time, as more and more consumers act in an environmentally mindful way, companies will take notice. If more companies respond to consumers’ need to make conscientious purchases, maybe our environment stands a chance.
What do you think? Is sustainable consumerism possible? Is our earth in dire straits?
Like Mary Beth Gonazlez, Green Mamma intends to buy what she needs, not necessarily what she wants (and believe me, I battle the urge to buy something every time I enter a store), and overall to maintain a healthy balance. I will buy new underwear when I need them.
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May 13th, 2008 at 11:50 pm
well, enthusiastic as I am, I still doubt I would ask 4 (or any) questions any time I buy something just to control the wanting beast inside.
Of course I agree with the necessary mindset and attitude, but as far as we accept this buying madness as normal, what should be controlled for objective reasons, we might have a sad and frustrated life.
We need to want something, anyway. we need to want something else: what gives meaning to our lives. if our thinking is still predominated with consumption, it just does not seem to be the solution. I guess if we manage to find some sort of meaning, through other people instead of objects we might become able to … khmm just give a shit on consumption attractions.
May 14th, 2008 at 5:53 am
Yes, we need to find what gives meaning to our lives, and in doing that, why not consider the actual people (who we likely have no personal relationship with) who’ve either participated in the making of a product or whose local environment is impacted by the making of stuff.
As for avoiding the actual act of consuming, I agree that a smart and easy way to do so is to focus on the people in our lives and to spend time with them.
May 14th, 2008 at 6:36 am
Here’s another issue that I struggle with, the idea of voting with our dollars and supporting what we believe in. For example, I could of course make my own cleaning products, and in some instances, I do. However, I also like to support companies like Seventh Generation, that I feel happy about giving money to. I want to make a statement that these products are important to me, that my stores should keep them stocked on their shelves, and that the companies should stay in business. What do you think?
May 14th, 2008 at 11:11 am
Yes, voting with our dollars is one way to send messages to corporations that we as consumers expect more from them (care, protection, and preservation of the earth’s environment as well as for the human community supporting the making of our products).
I want local and organic farmers and companies who sell environmentally friendly products to stay in business and to help change the market. And I admit that it is totally selfish. I want a healthy environment for my children and generations of human beings to come.