Photo by Will Scullin
I've been thinking about shopping--a LOT.
I didn't anticipate that my thoughts about spending would actually increase by doing an ethical spending challenge.
But I've found it to be, just a month into the journey, a bit like traveling to a new country.
You step off the plane, find your bags, and head for customs. But all the signs are in a different language, all the people around you speak words that make no sense, and by the end of the day--your brain feels fried. Even taking care of the most basic needs is overwhelming.
It used to be so easy - each week I would create lists of things we needed. One for our weekly food shop, one for the weekly Target shop. On Sunday, my husband would grab the list and buy the food; I would take the other and pull what we needed from Target's shelves.
It was simple, convenient, and fairly easy to fit into our already busy lives.
Now, when I look at my shopping lists, I feel like that confused person in customs. I have more lists, for one thing. And on each one, I'm attempting to figure out how to source the items more ethically.
I'm putting off the purchases that aren't easy to figure out. I don't have time to spend an hour online discovering an eco-friendly option for every item I need.
So I stall.
Thus why almost all of Elijah's underwear currently have holes. I'm having trouble buying those off my local shelves, all of which are guaranteed (there's really no question when it comes to most clothing) to have been produced in a sweatshop.
I can't make underwear for him, can't buy it used. Have already spent a lot of time looking online for a simple answer - of course there's one out there. Just haven't found it yet.
Sometimes there seems to be no good solution for a needed item, and I must settle for a bit of imperfection.
This is good, I think. I want to feel the uncomfortability of wrestling with imperfect solutions, rather than consuming in ignorance. Want to be face-to-face with the reality of hard choices that affect others.
But soon, soon, very soon, I will be fluent in the language of this new land. I will know where to get what I need. I will confidently purchase, or confidently refrain from purchasing. I will know where my money is going and what it is supporting.
I will feel the joy of buying in line with my values--imperfectly, yes, but making the best attempt I know how.
Here are some things I hope to change this year:
1. Banking
2. Deodarant
3. Clothing
4. Makeup
5. Feminine Care - Hoping for upcoming success here, since I've order these Gladrags to try. (Cloth menstrual pads, for those who haven't heard of them - worth checking out! A year ago I would have found the idea gross, now it seems perfectly sensible to try.)
6. Electricity Providers
7. Retail Stores
8. Shoes
9. Gasoline - This is an easy change to make, depending on where you live.
Basically no gas is great gas. But if you can't live without a car (and we have no intention of trying!), Sunoco is the best gas company to support (when compared with others). Head here to read an overview of their environmental principles.
* Baby Step #2 - Can you find a Sunoco close to your home? I was able to do so and make a difference just by altering my filling up routine.
* Baby Step #1 - Buy a copy of the Better World Shopping Guide so you can begin to learn which stores deserve your support.
**Have you wrestled with the imperfection of trying to figure out how to consume more ethically? I'd love for you to share.**
