Conscious consumerism
You vote with your money, you have probably heard that before. I am convinced that we should take care of our planet. It gives us so much and we take even more. That's why today I want to talk about a topic that's very near and dear to my heart, conscious consumerism.
WHAT DOES CONSCIOUS CONSUMERISM MEAN?
The most important thing is to make positive choices when buying new things. You think about what you buy, how you are going to use it and in the end where it is going to end up after you are done with the item. You have the intention to make the impact (your footprint) that buying (and using) new items have on the world as small as possible. And where possible even have a positive impact.
WHAT AND WHERE YOU BUY
Things you can think about when getting something new are:
Are the raw materials produced in an ethical and environmentally friendly manner?
Is the product made in an ethical and environmentally friendly manner?
Are the workingconditions (and payment) fair and ethical during the production process?
Is there overproduction?
What is the product made of?
How is the quality of the product?
Are there any specific things the company does to make a positive impact on the community and environment?
When you buy online, how and where from is your order getting shipped?
WHY DO I BUY SOMETHING?
Things to ask yourself when buying something new are: Do I need this or is it something that I really want to have? When I buy this, is it going to add something to my life and how often am I going to use it? When answering these questions try to be honest with yourself. You can always come up with a "reason" why you should have something. But do you really need it? Does it really add something to your life when you get the item?
REPLACING VS REPAIRING
There is a hole in your shirt, what now? Are you going to replace it or are you going to try to repair it? This is for sure something I need to work on myself. It is pretty easy to just go and replace something. Still, repairing is probably the better option. When you are buying something new it might be a good idea to ask yourself if it would be possible to repair the item when it breaks. Shoes are a good example. When the sole is getting holes it is pretty easy to get them replaced. Sometimes shoes are even made to be easy to repair them if something should happen to them.
There are also more and more companies that offer a free repair service for their products (often within a time period, sometimes for ever) or offer a way to easily repair your item yourself.
WHERE DOES IT END UP?
Something you probably don't tend to think about when you are buying something new is where it will end up after you are done with the item. Since there aren't many items you will actually use for the rest of your life, what is going to happen with your things after you part ways?
First of all you need to take a closer look add what you are getting rid of. Could it still be used by someone else? Then give it away, donate it or try to sell it. way you give the item a second life. Something that might have lost it's worth for you could still be something that someone might love and use.
Is the item beyond saving? Absolutely broken? Then see if you can recycle it or use it in another way. This is where the material it's made of comes into play again. Materials that aren't compound materials tend to be easier to recycle or reuse (as far as I am aware). Compound materials often will have to be separated first before it can be recycled which is often a difficult and expensive process what might result in the item ending up in landfill after all. It is getting harder and harder to take this in acount but at least try to keep it in mind when buying something new.
What if it ends up in landfill? If you ask me a natural material will be muchGood luck with the next steps on your bridge. I wish you all the happiness and an amazing day.if they will at all. Untill then they often are mostly just poluting the environment (microplastic). A natural material will decompost much faster, for the most part it is a natural compound and nature will know how to handle it and make it into nutrients again.
I could go on and on much longer but for today I think this is quite enough. Goodluck with the next steps on your bridge. I wish you all the happiness and an amazing day.
❤ Eva