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Socially Responsible Spending
Rethink where and what you buy and change the world
Our living, breathing blue ball of life is asphyxiating as a result of man-made problems. World hunger, overpopulation, global warming, and endangered species to name a few. Depending on who you talk to, "world problems" means something different, but generally refers to huge crises like the aforementioned "best left to those in power to change the world." Unfortunately, the type of people expected to fit that description - politicians - are too busy wrapped up in their own tangled web of political games to get anything done.
However, I believe everyday American citizens are in the best position to change the world.
Why? Our everyday consumption is out of control, and the unsustainable and unethical business practices that fuel a homogenized America dominated by megacorporations are using our money for destructive purposes. In addition, our nation is in the undeserved position of being a world leader, influencing the choices, dreams, and lifestyles of even those in developing countries. America alone is destroying the world enough as it is; we don't need anyone copying our model of destructive overconsumption.
How? With the American dollar. George Washington has more power than George W. Bush, but the people who realize this are still in the minority. By putting our money where it will do some good for the world, we can keep our wealth from leaking into other countries, help fund environmental and humanitarian projects, and positively affect the lives of those around the world. We may not be in a position to totally change everyone's lives, as if by magic, but we are in the position to help stop harming them any more than we already are.
So what am I getting at? You hear about the "rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer" in this country, but why? The reason why this country's economy is going downhill (real progress is not the money that lines the pocketbooks of greedy CEOs) is because a majority of its citizens are being brainwashed into buying things they don't need by television and shopping malls, which have replaced houses of worship as American cultural centers. And when they do buy these things, they have spent money, gained a product, a.k.a. "happiness" in the form of fleeting "newness", and they think the transaction's over, but it's not.
Most of the ads on TV have been placed by megacorporations who have the capital to market their brand - product is secondary - to all age groups, from the cradle to the nursing home. These megacorporations (Wal-Mart and Starbucks are two of the worst) destroy the environment and/or small, locally owned and operated unique businesses for the purpose of homogenizing American "communities" (i.e., shopping centers... and in the case of Starbucks, international ones as well) and lining their pocketbooks with handsome sums of money they could use to help world hunger and other humanitarian causes, but instead spend on private jets and their own personal fulfillment.
The cycle repeats itself in two ways: the "newness" of said bought product wears off, creating a demand for another product, fueled by advertisements, paid for by the original purchase, which costs a marginal amount compared to the money corporate leaders use to fuel their greed. It is a highly profitable, highly dangerous circular business model that is producing far more than we need and destroying the environment and animals (in the case of the corporate food industry) of the world.
On a related note, the food industry is full of easily accessible supermarkets like Wal-Mart and Farmer Jack that are giving the consumer the illusion of savings. Everyone wants to save money and eat fast these days so they buy cheap foods - whose cost manifests itself in the risks to your health as a result of cheap, mass-produced artificial ingredients like high fructose corn syrup - while the bigwigs, totally isolated from the public, are capitalizing on your health problems.
No advertising works as well as word-of-mouth advertising, so...
From now on, I am trying to think about what I purchase. Do I really need it? The easiest way to save money is not to spend it.
Overcoming Consumerism
Affluenza (I assume this is based on a book called Affluenza, the All-Consuming Epidemic... which I highly recommend)
If I do really need it, then can I get it through a business that engages in socially and environmentally responsible business practices?
The Responsible Shopper - who not to buy from
Co-op America's National Green Pages - who to buy from
See also
The Slow Food movement - food is one of the three essentials. Might as well avoid supermarket homogeny and make it not only tasty but nourishing to your health, the health of the environment, and the welfare of those who work to put that food on your table.
Working Assets credit card - Many environmentally friendly retailers sell their products online, but good luck finding a socially/environmentally responsible credit card to fund those purchases. You can search Google for hours, but this is the only one.