Ethical buying

[Dreamer]

I know we are talking this topic in the 'MLP knockoff merch' topic in the Corral, but I'd like to post something similar here for non-pony related purchases.

How can you assure that you're not buying from a sweatshop? What are your alternative methods when buying stuff?

In my home it's hard to be ethical/ecological because usually my family buy the first thing they find on the market ^^U But there is a shop near my home that sells bio products, including food and cleaning products. So I try to buy from it as much as possible I also try to craft some items I need (why bothering buying a piggy bank when I can make one from a bottle?) or buy from thrift stores or flea markets.

What are the things you do for a better world when you buy?

[Gloomygirl777]

A lot of the clothes I get are usually hand me downs from someone else......or bought off of Ebay. That counts for toys too. And I don't know if this counts but I don't eat at Hardee's because I find their commercials to be very degrading to women.

[Elisto]

It's so hard, and I feel like it would be insane to try to check up on every single thing you might buy. Hardly anyone has that kind of time and we have to just trust to some extent that product being sold really is OK when someone says it is.

That said, I do some of what you do, as well as try to avoid a few certain things that I know are not ethical, like bananas (fortunately there are two places near me that sell fair trade bananas, although I can't get to them often. Really, overall, I think food is the hardest for me because I can do without or minimize my use of a lot of other things, but food obviously isn't one of them, yet I can't find/afford/consistently source all my food as ethical.

I really wish we could all agree on some basic standard of what is "ethical" and only produce/buy according to that at minimum, but as long as people value cheap over ethical, there are going to be exploitation and rationalization for why it's really "OK" (Like, "oh, sure, the job's terrible and we wouldn't do it, but at least it's a job for them, so it's OK" rather than supporting better jobs/quality of life for everyone).

[kaoskat]

Honestly, I don't think about it a great deal. When offered an option, I do choose the better of the two, but I don't hunt things down and dwell on it. I have other causes that are more my focus.

[melodys_angel]

When stuff is in season there are farmer stands all along the roads by us.  We are fortunate to live In the fruit belt^^

[lovesbabysquirmy]

It can be really tough to start out with ethical buying!  Mostly it is a ton of research!  First, you have to think about all the different types of products you buy.  Then you have to know who owns/produces the product.  Then you have to depend on resources that tell you what is IN the product.  And yes you also have to consider your causes as kaoskat said.  Do you care about environmental issues, animal issues, human rights issues... 

Let's start with cleaning products, since you mention you buy them.  Honestly the only cleaning chemicals you will ever need are the cleaning chemicals that humans have used for thousands of years: salt, baking soda, bleach, borax, and vinegar.  Buy those (and gloves for the borax!) and you will not need to think about "this bathroom cleaner" or "this kitchen soap".  Most of these products are easily bought and from companies that don't need to advertise much.  Truthfully chemical processing isn't the healthiest, but you have to buy chemicals to clean unless you are making your own soap with lye...  yeah...  Not much you can do if the companies are not paying workers enough or giving them benefits, but  you don't need to fall into the myth that "this makes the air clean", "this sparkles!", and so forth.  Most of the chemicals inside the advertised cleaning products are much, much worse to the environment and public health in the long run.  For example, in many popular air-fresheners in North America, they use a certain chemical to "hold" the scent in the air longer than it naturally would... Like perfume and whale byproducts.    Except this chemical is formaldehyde - what they use to preserve lab specimens and human bodies at the morgue!  MMMMM fantastic to breathe right?  And you so want to spray this around pets?  On fabric surfaces?  *shudders*

Clothing you have to know who made it, and where the factories are, and what kind of standards are being held to, and how often they are inspected.  I try to take all the thought process out of clothing by only buying second-hand unless I have no other choice.  Underwear and shoes I obviously buy new  but I seriously put a dent in the clothes rack at the thrift store when I shop for "new clothes"! 

Food...  well, again, where was it picked, what are those conditions, how far did it travel?  I try to grow as much produce at my house as I can, when local sales go on from the farmers, I buy in crazy amounts and preserve it...  I try not to buy things on every shopping trip that I know have a large footprint - like bananas.  You probably don't have the same footprint on bananas in Spain that we would in Canada.    But I don't imagine that you have lots of rye bread in Spain... we have lots of rye here! 

Free trade/fair trade... well, that only goes so far as most products don't have to be sold that way.  Coffee, chocolate, mostly perishable stuff from the developing nations.   I try but those items make up so little of my shopping that I often don't focus on it.   

Good for you for trying to make better choices!  Check out this website, it has a LOT of great resources:  http://www.earth-policy.org/

[Whippycorn]

This is something I think about quite a lot, both in terms of sociological and ecological impacts.

The main thing I think for both of these things is to source things as locally as possible. Firstly because if it is from your own country you have more chance to understand and have an impact (politically) on how it is produced in terms of working conditions and environmental impacts. Secondly, the biggest ecological (and indeed sociological) challenge we face at the moment is climate change, and anything we can do to reduce the carbon footprint of our consumption is good.

The second thing which follows is that we simply need to reduce our consumption. Just because we can do or have something, it doesn't mean we should. We don't need new clothes or a new mobile phone every few months, we don't need to eat fresh strawberries in December etc. So whenever I want to buy something I stop myself and ask if I truly need it, given the ethical and environmental costs of its production. Buying fewer things would also mean that we could afford to buy more ethical items instead. Maybe instead of buying 10 New Look or Primark dresses, we can buy one quality, locally hand-made dress.

My two most recent steps have been reducing my meat intake dramatically (largely to reduce my carbon footprint) and starting to make my own bathing and cleaning products (without the animal cruelty and crazy chemicals). Personally I find it liberating rather than a chore. I could talk about this forever, but I'd like to see what other people feel about it for now.

[Icecrystalline]

Honestly, I don't think about it a great deal. When offered an option, I do choose the better of the two, but I don't hunt things down and dwell on it. I have other causes that are more my focus.

Exactly the same here.

[June]

I don't think about about ethics when I buy clothes. I do hope that conditions in factories of the brands I buy from are decent.
I avoid buying cosmetics and make up from companies which test on animals and sometimes I make stuff like face scrubs and hair masks from household items.
A lot of food we buy is from the market or people we know so that should be good. Sadly, a supermarket where we usually shop is from a chain owned by an evil guy. Cashiers have really low wages and I heard that they aren't even allowed to go to toilet so they have to wear diapers ?! That sounds really crazy, but considering that that guy has practically stolen a castle (!) and turned it into a private residence and had a road closed so he and his family are not disturbed or something, it is possible.
The furniture we buy is often from local factories, so that's OK.

Also, we recycle everything we can.

It annoys me how "bio" and "ethical" stuff is either really low quality or super expensive.

[Tap Dancer]

To be honest, I just buy what I want and like. I don't do research.

[SunPony]

When I was growing up, my mom was always trying to buy "made in USA" things instead of items imported, but often it was not possible for certain items (MLPs, other toys...).  Currently, I also try to do that when possible, but really I get A LOT of my items from Goodwill/Salvation Army.  Especially clothes, and my set of dishes, some furniture, etc.  Then I don't have to wonder about the conditions in which it was made - it is no longer relevant.  I guess I'm just lazy    and cheap    I also like to make things that I need, like purses and clothes.

Food-wise, I try to toe the line between cost-effective and ethically-sourced.  I used to get my milk from a local dairy where I used to live.  But, I still buy cane sugar...so...I guess I win some and lose some 

[kaoskat]

Alot of cane sugar comes from the town where I grew up. And it's fine as far as "worker conditions and pay" go. I won't tell you how they sweep the spill over off the floor and send it (and all the filth swept up with it) through processing again. Oh wait....I just did..... So just buy your cane sugar from Florida factories.

Oh, and they also run brand name bags right along on the conveyor belt for fill up right next to off name brand. There's no difference. Just a prettier bag.

[Whippycorn]

Honestly, I don't think about it a great deal. When offered an option, I do choose the better of the two, but I don't hunt things down and dwell on it. I have other causes that are more my focus.

Exactly the same here.

May I ask what you mean by other causes?

[hathorcat]

Its almost impossible nowadays, unless you were to shun pretty much all modern technologies or advantages, to live and buy completely ethically. And even items which run with the Fair Trade or similar branding have been reported to have problems in their route to market - from souring to where the money for the items actually goes. In current economic times, it can also be a very expensive way to live as often comparative items are more expensive the more managed and in theory ethical they can be proven to be.

I will admit, perhaps like many people, I will look for food which is sourced locally and am happy to pay more for it. However as we have seen from the treatment of animals in farms/barns/huts across countries in the west, just because its sourced locally does not make it any better sourced.

An other interesting question is what you class as ethical. A big issue within my local farming community is how they are treated by the big supermarket buyers for their milk. They are essentially bullied to the point of no profit, and often loss. in the price commanded by the big buyers. In Africa we would call that kind of behaviour unethical sourced produce. Yes, here milk hits shelves with few outside of farming communities knowing how painful the process is for the supplier. 

[MiRaja]

I think it's important to ethically source and buy-local when possible.  Such things directly influence the economy, especially the local economy.  I love the people who whine and moan about the economy and then shop completely at Walmart.  I mean, I buy things at Walmart too, but it's usually Toilet Paper and some other paper goods and what not.

Otherwise I try to buy local or buy from companies that are more interested in helping out the towns in which they function in.  I like buying from Publix, they pay their employees above minimum wage, and offer benefits.  They also stock better quality produce and other items I can't get elsewhere.  Yes, I pay a little more, but you do get what you pay for.

I get most of my produce, however, from local farmer markers.  I do not buy into the hype of organic, however, because almost all organic stuff is grown from the same corporations who produce the conventional stuff that sell to Wal-Mart, it's mostly just a big scam.  I buy from local farmers who say to me, that they can't afford to grow organic this and that, and sometimes the 'organic' pesticides are no better or are actually worse than the conventional.  :/ 

I definitely buy my honey local.  Most honey ( Read: Almost all ) is fake, or is pasteurized so that the good stuff is all removed, or is mixed with sugars and syrups and is really actually bad for you.  This supports local beekeepers and also helps keep a healthy honey bee population in the area.  I'm lucky that I am in an area where I can get so many amazing honeys and have so many choices.  I am really actually crazy for honey.  << >>  I'm a tea addict. . . 

I also buy a lot of vintage where I can do, for things like kitchenware and clothing.  Vintage USA kitchenware is going to be better than anything you can buy at Walmart.  I guarantee it.  It'll last longer, and it'll either cost the same or cost less.  Buying from a local antique store also helps your local economy.  I have two different sets of plates, one is a set from Poland made in the 1940's, and another is from Japan from the 1960's.  All my mixing bowls are Anchor Hocking.  Even my new casserole dishes are Anchor Hocking which are STILL made in the USA, and they are NOT expensive in the least, so on things like that, there is no excuse for buying made-in-China crap.  I got a set of 4 casserole dishes, two large, one small, and one medium for $15.  That was two years ago when I moved into my current apartment. 

Most of all my utensils are vintage too, and I guarantee they work better than the new stuff.  I have a vintage mixer, a can opener, ice cream spoon, cheese grater, etc, etc.  I've never had to replace them, and in fact, a lot of the stuff was my grandparent's, that they had used for decades and decades.  So it's not even like old store stock, it's just really good stuff that lasts forever.

I try to buy a lot of my clothing used too, and I wear a lot of vintage dresses and such that were made in the US.  Good high quality cloth, bought from local shops or family businesses and what not.  And no, I'm not any skinny mini, but I still manage to find a few nice dresses here and there that fit me and are really cute.  They hold up a lot better than new stuff, too, so I don't have to buy as much, though I definitely have a thing for Calvin Klein jersey dresses.  They are unfortunately made in China, but are much higher quality, with more thread counts in their cloths, so they hold up better than stuff that comes from Target, Walmart and even Kohl's.  A lot better.  I may drop $100 on a single dress(though I often get them for much, much less, like on clearance), sure, but I still have my first dress I purchased from them, from four years ago.  I've had to mend a bit here, and darn a few spots, but it's still a very nice dress.  When I think about the amount of wear I've gotten out of it ( a lot ), it's not so much.  If someone has to buy 4-8 dresses in 4 years to get the wear out of the one dress I bought for $100, it really, really does even out, if not actually end up being cheaper.  There are some brands that are better than others, my suggestion is to research what you buy.  Ask others what they like about their favorite brands, and whether they hold up or not if vintage isn't an option for you. 

 Our society is just way, way, way too materialistic while at the same time being so disposable too.  I came from a poor family, we never had the money to be buying new things every year, but at the same time, we always valued good products, products made well, not made to be disposable, products you could use for decades on decades and pass down. 

To me, I just think some people have way too much money than they need.  I can't imagine buying new appliances every few years, or an entirely new closet of clothes every season, or even replacing my pots and pans, or utensils and stuff.  What I have now?  I plan on having for a very long time, maybe until I'm a little old lady and die, that is if I don't lose everything in a disaster or some such.  I just have no need to replace what still works just because it isn't new and shiny.  And to me, I think that's a major part of living and buying ethically.  I try to reduce my carbon footprint by reusing and not throwing away items that aren't broken or worn out.