Out of the 4 ways you can align your money with your values, we’ve talked about what you invest in, who you bank with and who issues your credit card. Next up, what and where you buy from.
As a conscious consumer, the first steps are to reduce and reuse. A huge part of the problem is that our society is built on this idea of unlimited consumption and our planet, which has finite resources, can’t keep up with our rate of consumption.
That’s why it’s important to consider whether or not you really need to attain something new. Once you decide something is absolutely necessary to buy, the next step is to consider purchasing something sustainably and socially responsibly made.
These directories are a great place to start looking for good companies, products, and services:
B Corps - social and environmentally conscious businesses
Support Your Ladies and Luminary Collective - women owned businesses
Official Black Wall Street - black owned businesses
We’ve also made a list of some of our favorite things:
Mossy Earth - carbon offsets
Wool and the Gang - our new knitting and crochet obsession
Uncommon Goods and Gifts for Good - gifts
Patagonia - outdoor clothing and gear
Bombas - socks
Allbirds - shoes
OSEA - facial products
Seventh Generation - cleaning products
Grove Collective - household and personal care
West Paw - dog toys
Together, let’s be intentional about buying. We can be conscious about what and where we’re buying from, and more importantly, conscious of whether we need to buy anything at all. Taking conscious consumerism to the next level, “instead of buying expensive organic sheets, donate that money to organizations that are fighting to keep agricultural runoff out of our rivers. Instead of taking yourself out to dinner at a farm-to-table restaurant, you could take an interest in the Farm Bill and how it incentivizes unhealthy eating.”