By Ole Houen
I have been thinking alot lately about the power that we have as consumers (thanks mostly to an amazing talk by Tim Costello from World Vision at Fair @ Square this past weekend). Power that we mostly take for granted, and probably don't give too much thought to. I've recently started paying closer to attention to the things that I buy - reading the labels of food products, thinking about organic produce, wondering where and how those clothes that are on sale are made. I'm not being crazy about it, just curious. And since I have started doing that I have discovered so many new things - good and bad. I've found out that lots of organisations (particularly those big multi billion dollar producers) hide lots of things from us. They can because we don't really think to go looking for who uses child labour or genetically modified food or underpay their staff. It's really quite scary.
I've started to realise that I may just be one person, but that I can make a difference in this world just by choosing which company, which brand, which business gets MY business.
I don't want to get all preachy, but I do think that it's something we should all be thinking about. Especially during this crazy season of gift buying. We have immense power and we should use it.
If you're interested in more info, check out the Ethical Consumer Guide
I am so glad you are thinking about this stuff. I once wrote a letter to my local Woolworths because they stopped stocking any local tomato puree! Within a few weeks they had the local brands back again. Probably others had noticed to and written letters as well! We won though!
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