Last week, I issued the challenge that we need to be more aware of how we are supporting businesses with our money, whether their polices and labor practices are good or bad, because our dollars have power.
A few years ago I read this post by Tsh Oxenrider at the Art of Simple and it changed my life. Ok, I might be exaggerating just a little bit, but not by much.
I had just begun the slow journey toward considering where my money was going. Purchases that previously had been routine, I was now considering more carefully. Thanks to some education done by Bethany Tran, founder of The Root Collective, I was looking at everything in a new way.
Then I read about chocolate.
Ouch, that hurt.
I’m not big on candy, but chocolate that’s another story. I eat it, bake with it and I have great appreciation for good quality chocolate. But, thanks to Tsh, I had to rethink the subject. This led to changes in how I shopped. Fortunately the Art of Simple was just developing their Ethical Shopping Guide, which was a crucial tool for my process.
It was hard to give up our usual brands, but once I made the transition, it wasn’t so bad.
Yes, it cost more. I couldn't as easily run to the store to buy what I needed. But it’s worth it to know that the people making the goods I consume have been paid a fair wage. Click To TweetSlowly I found substitutes for four big areas of my life. These are my go-to items. Whenever someone says they don’t know where to start when overhauling their buying habits, this is what I tell them.
Chocolate
Chocolate Chips- Equal Exchange (Amazon & Vitacost)
Bar Chocolate- Divine or Green & Black (Vitacost, Amazon and Wegmans).
Both these brands are positively delicious and it’s so much easier to enjoy them when I know that my purchase helped create sustainable jobs and provided fair wages instead of contributing to slave labor.
Coffee
Equal Exchange – while it is harder to find a store locally that carries this, I regularly add it to my Vitacost order. (Amazon and Vitacost)
Aldi- Aldi sells a fair trade coffee. While I generally prefer to buy from a company whose overall mission I can get excited about, I still feel Ok purchasing Aldi in a pinch because of it’s a fair trade label.
Equal Exchange also makes tea, if coffee isn’t your thing.
Underwear
I’ve switched to exclusively fair trade undies and I love the products from PACT. They also have tons of other items I like.
Pajamas
I used to treat myself to a few good sets of PJ’s from Victoria Secret every year or two. But I realized if I bought comfy leggings and tank tops from PACT I could spend the same amount of money, and even look like I was dressed in a pinch.
(As a mom, there are definitely days when getting fully dressed doesn’t happen as often as I’d like. PACT even carries a cute lounge cardigan that I can easily throw over a tank and leggings and look more put together.) But PACT also carries various more traditional sleep options like sleep tees and robes.
These are just a few areas where you can start. There are lots of other items that I prioritize fair trade whenever I can, but that is a whole other post that I’ll hopefully well share with you soon.
The important thing isn’t that we always make perfect purchases, but that we begin, a little at a time, to reevaluate what we spend our money on. Remember, your dollars have power, and with great power comes great responsibility. Click To Tweet
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