Conscious Consumerism

The other day Jamie at Green Resolutions asked me how I had come across Malagasy chocolate, and expressed her frustration that sometimes it's hard to wade through all the products in the market and find the right products, and make the right choices.

I can well empathize.

As it happens, I was tipped off to Malagasy chocolates by a reader of my blog, Neelofer back in October. So essentially, I found out about Malagasy through word of internet mouth, which is how I find out about most sustainable products.

But the honest truth is that, in the end, we have to make the best decisions with the information we have. And we can't beat ourselves up for not knowing about every single chocolate bar, or coffee bean, or recycled toothbrush on the market.

Obviously, one has to do one's homework, as "greenwashing" grows more and more pervasive. Ultimately, though, I think it's important to keep in mind that the simple act of staying conscious is half the game.

Conscious consumerism doesn't always mean making the 'right' choices. Sometimes, we all slip up, get tired, and buy a non fair-trade or equitrade chocolate bar. Or we buy a product we believe is green, only to find out later that it is not. Sometimes, we don't know what the right answer is: is it the organic milk in the plastic disposable container, or the non-organic milk in the reusable glass bottle? Conscious consumerism doesn't mean that we always react perfectly.

Rather, conscious consumerism requires a recognition of the impact our consumption has on the world around us. Conscious consumerism reminds us of the negative externalities that are not captured in the cost of a $3 plastic watch. Similarly, conscious consumerism might make us aware of the positive effect of supporting the local dairy that can't afford to be certified organic.

No one is going to get every consumer decision right every single time. Sometimes there is no 'right' decision.

But, as long as you are remaining conscious, you should give yourself a pat on the back. You're doing just fine.