Robert Seitzinger | Saturday 6th February 2010
"One of the greenest cities in the U.S."The decision to be an ethical consumer is not always in the consumer's hands. Oftentimes, access to green technologies and companies that elect to be sustainable depends more on where the consumer lives and works, instead of simply on their intentions.
I live in Portland, Oregon, where being green is all the rage. From our dozens of LEED certified buildings and water reuse systems to our compost-friendly neighborhoods and organic farmers' markets, just living here seems to lower your carbon footprint. Certainly, it's a great place to live as an ethical consumer. Being in the hub of ethical consumption makes it easy to follow the green crowd, certainly, and it promotes a sense of community and progress that people outside the nexus of green activity can see and be inspired by.
This city even has ethical consumers among its brewers. Lucky Labrador uses solar energy to power their fermenting tanks, Roots Brewing uses only organic materials in their brews and Laurelwood Brewery began with a mission to use as many sustainable practices and organic ingredients as possible. A town that takes even its drinking to a green level is going to attract ethical consumers, and that is indicative of how easy it is to be sustainable around my neck of the woods.
This isn't the story all over, unfortunately. The best sort of ethical consumer is one who is willing to get the word out to communities and regions where green awareness is low—heavy industrial areas, places far removed from resources that have to import all their goods only to dump them nearby with no plan for dealing with their waste.
Another concern that exists for ethical consumption is convincing people who've grown used to their way of life, people who don't want to (or flat out refuse to) change. This is where small steps are key: If there aren't recycling bins where you work, ask if you can bring in a bin.
They're none too expensive, and placing one next to the garbage cans will steadily increase the amount of reusable material to be recovered from your job. Even if you have to take it home yourself the first few weeks and drop the stuff wherever your home recycling is collected, you'll be making a difference without having to do much more than you were already doing.
It's a good feeling that comes with these small steps, and that feeling creates the ethos of ethical consumers. Knowing that even little steps can make an impact on the future of your materials and that simple waste management will preserve our natural environment—that's the drive everyone should feel as they look around and see that we're in need of some change.
Ethical consumers are a growing population, and with the right amount of optimism and gumption, we'll soon have everyone on board!
|
Editor
