Consuming Ethically
Well worth reading
I’d like to recommend sources that I use to live by my principles. Positive action requires information.
One of them is a subscription to Ethical Consumer, which I’ve subscribed to for about twenty years now.
As they say on their website, explaining Why shop ethically?:
“The way we spend our money can help to change the world.
Every time we shop we're voting with our wallet. When we buy from brands that have a positive impact it’s like voting for a better world.
By carefully choosing what we buy, and looking behind the brands, we can choose products that have a positive impact on people, the planet and animals.
For example by buying products that don’t contain palm oil you’re casting a vote to save orangutans and the Indonesian rainforest in which they live.
When you are part of a movement of people making similar positive choices we can start to have a big impact on the world around us.”
You can subscribe (or buy a gift subscription) here. It is well worth it for the excellent magazine, thorough research, and access to all the ethical shopping guides. Some are open to all, such as Ethical alternatives: brands to buy from if you boycott Israeli apartheid, but others are only for subscribers.
Disclaimer!
Since the big political parties are scouring every post by Green Party candidates, looking for anything they can twist, I feel like I should include all the caveats.
My household has a lovely subscription to Ethical Consumer!
I don’t get anything for promoting them (apart from a warm feeling inside for helping spread the word about good guys).
I know someone who works for them! But then again, I know a lot of people who work for a lot of companies.
I was once featured in one of their articles. Since it was fun to re-read it, here’s extracts from that article in Ethical Consumer #106, May 2007. It calculated my household’s Carbon Footprint. I won’t include the photo of myself. I had hair back then, and don’t want to be reminded of my loss to time, experience and stress!
Promoted by Karl Drinkwater (Green Party) at The Gate, Keppoch Street, Cardiff CF24 3JW.