How to Shop Ethically
Small Steps to Get Started
Shopping ethically can be difficult sometimes. Believe me, I know very well! But it does not have to be. Even a small change in your shopping habits can make a world of difference. This year, resolve to switch just one item you regularly purchase to an ethical or fair trade source you trust. Here is the difference that one change can make:
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​Change the world of the person who made your product. Provide meaningful, elevating employment to someone who otherwise might suffer the hopelessness of poverty, hazardous work conditions, disabilities, refugee camps or even human trafficking.
​2
Support businesses which are doing things differently and changing lives for the better. Encourage them to continue the good work they are doing.
3
Send a wake up call to the companies behind the brands you used to buy. Too many businesses knowingly or unknowingly profit from exploitation. When you stop buying those products, you stop contributing to the problem. However, if you write a letter to your favorite brand, you send an even stronger message.
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Changing a shopping habit will change your own life as well. You will find yourself shopping more mindfully instead of buying something just because it is there and it is cheap. And the ethically-made or fair trade product you do purchase often becomes a treasured possession, especially when you read the story of the person who created that item. You will become part of their story and they will become part of yours!
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