The Conscious Consumer
Because ethics is not cool,
sustainability is not exciting, and neither is likely to persuade their shareholders.....
we should not expect industry to make necessary changes soon.
But the conscious consumer knows he has a vote. The most powerful vote there is:
Every ad you see and hear is asking for that vote; every ubiquitous, annoying, truth-stretching one of them. And we can say NO. We can stop and consider the kids who are looking to us for their future, the working conditions in sweatshops oversees, and our suffering planet.
But becoming this kind of smart consumer can take some time and effort. There are trillions of products out there and just like the candidates in your local, state and national elections every one of them is putting enormous amounts of money and effort into convincing you that they are good. So good. But if they were we wouldn’t be in such a mess, would we?
The most diligent shopper could not keep up with it all. Fortunately there are some tools that make it easier, and certifications are one of the best. Certifications do some heavy work for the Conscious Consumer. Yes, there are some industry-created certifications that are little better than green-washing, but there are also some very good ones.
Some Tools for the Conscious Consumer
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This Website. If you live in California, this is the place to look for information on our B Corp Businesses.
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From Outside Magazine. If you're worried about the planet, here are 10 certifications to look for.
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Fashion Shopping? A guide to sustainable fashion certificates from Project CeCe.
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​From Coffee Habitat. A quick guide to coffee certifications.
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What are the 4 levels of USDA Organic? Find out here.
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CCOF provided the first organic certification in the United States. Learn about this California program here.
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