People today are becoming more conscientious of the purchases they are making; not just looking at the price tag but looking for items that are environmentally friendly. And there are so many benefits to buying “green” products. Green cleaning products such as Sun & Earth are nontoxic and biodegradable. Eco Tools makes products that are cruelty-free such as bamboo-handled makeup brushes. The Body Shop’s products are Fair Trade certified, the don’t test on animals and they are 100 percent vegetarian.
More companies are becoming more transparent with their supply chain and with that, the public is becoming more educated on conflict minerals and forced labor. With this knowledge people are buying products and services that they know will benefit more than just themselves.
By why?
Are people buying these because they believe it is their moral responsibility to buy environmentally-friendly and/or Fair Trade products? Are they buying them because it is the trend? Or are they simply doing it because they think about it as their good deed for the day?
In my ECG 200 last year, our class was split up into five groups. Each group worked with a organization to benefit the triple bottom line of the business; their people, the planet and the company’s profit. I learned that companies such as Sun & Earth (one of the groups we worked with) is a lot more beneficial for the community than just being a local business. The cleaning products they sell are good for the environment unlike competitors’ cleaning supplies. Also, they have refill stations for when you run out so you can reuse the bottles rather than recycling them or throwing them away.
Companies like The Body Shop and Lush sell environmentally-friendly products in their store that also coincide with the company’s ethics, as they buy raw goods from people who are in healthy working conditions and are paid respectfully for the hours they work.
I feel good making purchases from companies like these. Not only do I love their products, but I feel as though my purchase is making a difference. However, I don’t look at it as my get-out-of-jail-free pass. Though I know a lot of people that do.
I look at buying Sun & Earth laundry detergent killing two birds with one stone: I have soap to wash my clothes and I’m not releasing harmful chemicals into the atmosphere. My purchases from Lush and The Body Shop I use to pamper myself while being responsible and supporting just causes such as anti-animal testing and buying Fair Trade materials.
But that isn’t it for the day. I don’t see washing my hair with a fresh strawberry smoothie mask from Lush the only morally responsible act I have to do in my 24 hours. I refill my tumblers throughout the day to prevent from wasting cups. I bring my own bags to the super market when I go shopping. I don’t just shop these stores because of the morals behind them and I don’t just shop there because I like their products. I try to make efforts when I can to be a better person today than I was the days before.
On the other hand, there are people that shop at Lush and The Body Shop because it is the trend. I know there are plenty of people who shop there solely because their friends do. Because the companies use Fair Trade and/or animal cruelty-free materials, their costs are higher than drugstore brands you would find at Target or Walmart. Consumers look at purchasing more expensive items as buying a “brand name” and they feel they look better to others when they make more costly purchases. For me, I am not loaded and I am a little more cautious when making my purchases. I love the morals behind the companies but I’m a broke college student that needs to live in her means and not off mommy and daddy’s plastic.
There are even still people who buy these products for possibly an even worse reason. Some people look at such purchases as offsetting anything else they do in the day. People will buy items from The Body Shop while in the King of Prussia Mall. Then in the same trip, they will stop in Victoria’s Secret and Nike, two companies known for using slave labor to produce their shoes and apparel.
That isn’t how the world works people! You can’t only be conscientious of your purchases when it’s convenient. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing either. Consumers need to realize that a lot of their favorite stores are not up to up to snuff. That doesn’t mean that they need to stop shopping there but shopping at stores that are more ethically sound doesn’t make up for other purchases.
Know the facts and accept them. If you’re motivated to make a change, advocate that your favorite stores work to be Fair Trade certified or better for the environment/community. Ignoring it will only make things worse.
