In my previous post, I spoke about Mindful Shopping. One way to being is by doing your research before your shop, and asking yourself these important questions: Is it ethically made and is it sustainable? However, the real question here is, how do you know if the item was made ethically or if it’s sustainable? Most of the times, we as consumers tend to just read the words “ethically made” or “Eco-friendly," so we assume that the product we are purchasing is indeed those things. However, it is important to do your research and truly see if a company is backing up their claims.
According to Earth.Org , Green washing is when a company or organization spends more time on marketing themselves on being sustainable rather than on actually minimizing their environmental impact. Consumers are more likely to spend money on companies that seems ethical, as being seen as ethical drives profitability.
Many companies have simply put up a facade of sustainability while they continue to engage in activities that cause more waste. Some companies on the other hand, may be engaging in green washing, simply because they are unaware they are doing it. Usually this means they don’t have the expertise, nor do the research on what actually constitutes as sustainability.
Does the brand share its core values, and are sustainability and ethics part of those values? Are there quantifiable measures of the sustainability of the brand, such as percentage of recycled materials in their clothes? Perfection when it comes to sustainability and Eco-friendliness is impossible, but laying a foundation and setting up reasonable small steps is a great way to tell if a company is actually sustainable or not.
Great place to start when it comes to assessing whether a brand is sustainable and ethical, as they have no vested interest in a brand’s sustainability status, and require hard evidence of sustainable production to gain the seal of approval.
These are claims that are “technically true” but not relevant. One example is a “CFC-Free”- CFCs are banned by law, so this is not truly an indication of sustainability or environmental friendliness.
If a company is not transparent with its practices and claims, it’s usually because they aren’t environmentally friendly. Ask these companies about their other projects like who they support, donate to, etc. This is a telling sign of their actual actions and intentions.
In many cases, companies using green washing tactics will still have their products in an unnecessary amount of packaging. Which would seem contradictory to sustainability claims.
Don’t be afraid to reach out to companies and question their claims. If you’re unsure, you can usually find sourcing and ingredient information on company websites
Comment below some other ideas on how to make sure a company is indeed sustainable/Eco-friendly.
In my last post, Tips for De-cluttering, I talked about the benefits of de cluttering spaces in your home, like your closet. So, I thought this was a perfect time to talk about mindful shopping. Sometimes it is easy to de clutter your closet space, and then fill it back up with more clothes!
In the recent years, I have seen the impact that clothing has had on our environment. According to EARTHDAY.ORG the fashion industry is responsible for over 8% of total greenhouse gas emissions. It takes nearly 3,000 liters of water to make one cotton t-shirt and 3,781 liters of water to make a pair of jeans.
While I enjoy shopping, I’ve come to realize that I have enough. I don’t really need anything more. Does this mean I’ll never shop again? No, but I am working on doing more mindful shopping. That is, I now take time to reconsider the items in my cart.
Though you might like something, you may want to ask yourself whether you have enough space for it. Remember, you don’t want to clutter your closet.
Every time you have the desire to buy something, put it on a 30-day wait list. If you still want it at the end of 30 days, then you can purchase it. You may discover that there are a lot of items you don’t want anymore.
Is this purchase more important than my big financial goals?
Is it more important to buy this item than it is to fully fund my retirement account? Or is it more important than saving for a down payment on a house, saving for my kids’ educations, paying down the mortgage faster, or taking a family trip?
Do I have any high interest credit card debt or other debts to pay off?
Before buying anything other than the essentials (i.e., groceries), pay off your debts! By doing this you’ll have more money to spend in the future, not less!
Before you go out to buy something, check to see if you have anything similar that could serve the same purpose.
If you need a special occasion outfit, could you borrow a dress from a friend? One New York socialite I know rents all her special occasion designer dresses because she has very little closet space and doesn’t want to be seen in the same dress twice.
How durable is it? Is it ethically made and sustainable? Do your research before you buy.
If you HAVE to buy something, see if you can get an even better deal by buying used.
Buy less. Choose well. - Vivienne Westwood
Comment below some of your favorite mindful shopping tips.
Do you ever find it difficult to focus on work when everything around you is a mess? Well if you are anything like me, it is impossible to get anything done with mess around you. The Arkansas Traveler explains how according to a study by researchers at the Princeton University Neuroscience Institute, when an environment is cluttered, the chaos restricts your ability to focus.
Your home is a container and you must fit your family, pets and belongings into that container comfortably. If you think about it, your whole home is filled with container within containers; for example, your fridge contains your fresh food and your shelves container other household items. Your closet is the container for your clothes. However, sometimes it is easy to just pile random things everywhere and cram other containers, overfilling them with unnecessary items.
When you disrespect natural limits, things are hard to find and retrieve, and it’s difficult to keep clean. Not to mention, when you have too much going on around you, it becomes difficult to focus on one thing and can be time consuming if you wait until the last minute to get everything done.
If you enjoyed any of these tips, share this post with friends and family 😊