How to start shopping more consciously

No doubt of late, you will have heard about the environmental impact and the social damages of the things that we buy and consume. It seems like, quite rightly, more and more people are becoming much more conscious about where there clothing, food, and household items come from, as well as the materials used.

So if you have decided to take a leap into being a more conscious consumer, then it can feel a little overwhelming with where to start. Today’s post is all about how you can make better choices with what you buy, and can do your bit to help the environment, as well as help the people that produce the items that you buy.

START TO BE CURIOUS

To start off with, one of the easiest ways to look at things, is to start with what you already have around you; do you know where the clothing in your closet or food in your cupboard comes from in the first place? How far back can you trace these kinds of thing? Start to get curious with what you already have and you’ll start to learn a lot.

It is also a good idea to think about what your motivation for being more conscious is. Are you concerned about animal welfare and only want to source vegan cleaning or beauty products? Are you more concerned about people welfare and only want to source items like Kona coffee that are fair trade sourced (meaning that the farmers and workers are looked afters)? Are you more concerned about the environment and reducing emissions of how far things travel? All important to be thinking about, as it will keep you conscious and motivated.

ONE STEP AT A TIME

Making changes about what you buy and consume can feel overwhelming, as there are many different things that you could change. Don’t feel like you have to change everything all at once. Your journey could just start looking at reducing your use of unethical companies or those that test on animals, for example. Then you can take steps to make more conscious choices. For instance, just because a store gets new clothes in each week, it doesn’t mean that you need to be there buying them; step away from fast fashion.

CHOOSE WELL AND BUY LESS

Quirky clothes designer Vivienne Westwood was once reported to have said that you should buy less, choose well, and then make it last. So it just shows that living frugally is a must if you want to live in a more conscious way. Think about what you are planning to buy and if you really need it. You could also look for a better option. Take getting a new toothbrush, for example; we all need them from time to time. But is a bamboo toothbrush going to be a more ethical option over a plastic one that will take thousands of years to break down? It can be all about changing how you think and then making those choices accordingly.

this is a collaborative post