It’s important to be a conscious consumer all year round, but in particular the holidays are a really easy time to be swept up in the holiday hustle of shopping and stressing. I know I am really trying to shop ethically and sustainably this holiday season. Reasons why one would want to be a more conscious consumer include saving money, wanting to support small businesses and ethical/sustainable brands, and protecting the environment from waste, pollution, and loss of resources.
Most consumer habits are unknowingly harming the planet by wasting resources, creating packaging waste, producing excess carbon emissions to ship items …and GIRL, we don’t want that!
First, let’s define what a conscious consumer is and isn’t:
A conscious consumer is someone who:
- knows what they like
- knows what they need
- knows what’s safe for the planet and their body
- makes deliberate and informed choices
- is confident that they can rely on themselves to make good purchasing decisions.
- is comfortable paying a little bit more for a higher quality item that will last longer.
A conscious consumer ISN’T someone who:
- is cheap
- is easily swayed by deals/sales
- going to the mall or online shopping out of boredom
- uses retail therapy to treat their emotional problems (ok I’m very guilty of that!)
Now, I want to share what I’m doing to try to shop sustainably and ethically this holiday season, and maybe you can get some ideas that fit your lifestyle!
1. Intentional Holiday Gift Giving for Your Littles
For your kids use the blueprint: want – need – share – read. Now, I don’t have kids yet, but I love this concept. Four gifts…so simple. Something they need like clothes or a new backpack; something they want like a craft kit, legos, or a bike; something to share for the family like an experience, tickets to a sporting event/concert, or a gift card to their favorite restaurant; and something to read like a box set of their favorite book series or a monthly magazine subscription.
2. Educate Yourself on Where Your Dollars Are Going
More and more lately I’ve been doing a little bit of research whenever I am buying something. Since we’re furnishing our home I’ve been researching how sustainable the furniture is, and how far it has to travel to get to me. Obviously it’s most ethical and sustainable to purchase locally made items from small business owners, but if you are making purchases from big-box stores it’s nice to see what their mission is, whether they are focusing efforts on sustainable production or giving back.
Support your values with your dollars. Maybe you buy from companies that give back, or you use companies that use sustainable packaging, or perhaps you support brands with lifetime warranties that replace parts so you don’t have to constantly buy new items..
Where do you find conscious companies?
Go to the Environmental Working Group and look up the products that you are interested in purchasing and it will tell you what impact is has on the environment, and how safe it is for you.
BuyMeOnce.com is a website that sources and seeks out products that are both ethically and sustainably made. They also highlight products that are made to last as long as possible.
Finally, right here on Bloom & Spark. I have been pouring so much energy into creating resources here on my blog that show different brands and how they are being more sustainable. I’ve been making lots of sustainable and ethical gift guides too so be on the look out for those!
3. Shop Vintage & Thrift
It use to be rather uncool to get your clothes second hand, but with people being more mindful about clothing waste there is now a renaissance of thrift, vintage, and consignment shopping. It’s grown past the Salvation Army (or “Sally’s” as my family likes to call it) to become a huge industry in both the online space and brick and mortar stores. I am most excited about the Luxury consignment market on websites such as The Real Real and Poshmark. Here are some more great online thrift stores:
- Maeven Vintage
- Persephone Vintage
- Maw Supply
- Luxury Garage Sale
- Urban Outfitters (Urban Renewal)
- Rebag
- Asos Marketplace
- Tradesy
- Refashioner
- Vestiaire Collective
- ThredUp
- Patagonia Worn Wear
- Poshmark
- Depop
- Ebay
4. Shop Local
We all know the importance of shopping local, but in the midst of a pandemic it’s more important than ever for us to support our local businesses. There’s lots of ways you can do this. Maybe you make a pledge to yourself to only shop at local botiques for gifts, or maybe you just make a point to stroll down your town’s business district once a week instead of online shopping. However you do it, know that shopping from locally owned small businesses is one of the best ways to be a conscious concumer this holiday season.
5. Support Your Friends Who are Business Owners
If you scroll through your facebook feed chances are you’ll come across a handful of high school or college friends who are in the business of selling something. Makeup, skincare, exercise programs, vitamins, nailpolish, jewelry, clothes, the list goes on! Whether they are independent crafters or selling for a larger company like Beauty Counter, I highly recommend doing your holiday shopping from your friends. Supporting people you know in your immediate community feels so good, it helps them, and you can get some great gifts!
