The (Christian) Consumer's Responsibility

This post is going to complement my last post, but I wanted to approach the topic from a slightly different angle now. If you read my other post first, that would probably be good. If you have read it, here we go...!

As Christians in the United States, we spend a lot of our lives working at our jobs to make money and then consuming with that money. I think that the issue is avoided because it is intangible and complicated, but I honestly believe that God is interested in what we choose to spend our money on. I'm not talking about decisions about buying a new TV versus donating money to a charity. I'm talking about deciding which companies we should buy products from and what products we buy.

We can love people we don't know and will never meet by choosing one product over another. For example, by choosing Fair Trade and Child Slave Labor free products, you will be helping farmers across the world and denouncing harmful, hateful practices.

I only recently started to consider my consumer habits under the lens of God's love, and it has made a huge difference in my priorities and where my money goes. This is a passion of mine, and I hope that you find it significant enough to consider making some changes.

The Consumer's Responsibility

I think that many, if not most, people in our country would agree that we are not very happy about how many businesses are run . We are upset that businesses are so big that we cannot afford to let them collapse, even if they make poor choices that lead to their own destruction. We hate that we don't know what's in our food. We don't like the thought of workers in sweat shops or other harmful conditions. We wish that farmers and other workers were paid fairly. We want livestock to be treated decently. We don't want our cosmetics to contain untested, potentially harmful chemicals. However, it seems like all of these horrible things slide by, and little changes...

There is much discussion about what our government should or should not do to fix these things, but for some reason not many people talk about the fact that these companies would not be so big or even in business at all if people didn't buy their products! The truth is, there is a lot of information out there about these big companies and their shameful actions. However, how many people bother looking these things up, and, if they do, how many people bother to act accordingly?

I think that the truth is that we have become so convinced that we deserve to buy whatever we want whenever we want it that we have forgotten that products that cost more may cost more for a good reason! We feel like we need all sorts of "things," so we can't afford to buy quality products from good companies that charge more for their products because they are paying their workers more, harming the environment less, and doing other deeds that truly we should appreciate.

I know I've said it before in a different context, but this truth is just as pertinent here: We need to consume less stuff. I am no economic expert, but I tend to believe that if people decided to buy less but buy higher quality goods produced by reputable companies, a lot of our problems would diminish. Blue collar workers would probably be paid better. People could perhaps work fewer hours but still receive a living wage. More people would end up working in agriculture since our farming industry would focus more on the health of humans and the environment, and a larger workforce would be needed to satisfy the demands. Fewer people would be working in monotonous factory jobs since less "stuff" would be being produced. The list goes on.

I know that this seems idealistic, but the funny thing is that it is not companies who will make this decision for us. It is the consumers that can force this to happen. We are the ones supporting bad companies since we just buy whatever is cheapest, and cheap products are cheap for a reason. We have the power to force a company to shut down or reform simply by not buying their product.

If you are not happy with the big businesses of today, will you consider doing your research and becoming an informed, thoughtful consumer?

Plastic, Plastic Everywhere...

Seriously. Look around you. I bet you can find a bunch of plastic. We buy food in plastic, store food in plastic, wrap things in plastic, chew on plastic (any gum chewers out there?), constantly throw away plastic... Yet, most people don't think about this much, I don't believe. I know I didn't until recently, and now I'm surprised I hadn't heard more about plastic before! I'd like to share some things that I've learned. I give links to give you more to read and consider, but they aren't the only things I have read about these topics. If you are interested, go out and find more!

What is plastic made out of?

According to Wikipedia, the raw materials to make most plastics come from petroleum and natural gas.

Why is plastic such a big deal?

A few reasons. First of all, in our society, we use plastic to store our food in and eat our food out of regularly. The thing is, as far as I can tell, we aren't sure that any plastic is completely safe. Dangerous chemicals can leach into food and then stick around in our bodies. Even plastics that we know are harmful are still used to hold food! For example, the plastic that makes styrofoam is called polystyrene, and it is known to have negative effects on the body. (http://www.ejnet.org/plastics/polystyrene/health.html) Yet, I bet it is the rare person in our country who has never drank out of a styrofoam cup or eaten take-out from a styrofoam container.

The second reason that I will give is that the amount of plastic that we use creates a massive amount of waste. Massive. More on this later.

OK, we use a lot of plastic, but doesn't recycling solve the waste issue?

Unfortunately, no! We view recycling as a closed loop. For example, we buy a plastic yogurt container, use it, put it in the recycling, and assume that the container can be made into another yogurt container. There are two big problems with this. One, plastic is usually "downcycled." This means that when it is recycled, you get a lower quality plastic. In particular, from what I've read, food-grade plastic often does not recycle to be food-grade plastic. That means that a lot of the plastic used to package food is brand-new plastic! Also, eventually plastic is unable to be recycled any more. (http://planetgreen.discovery.com/work-connect/green-glossary-downcycling.html)

What problems are there from plastic waste then?

First of all, a huge problem is that plastic is largely not biodegradable. Whether it is on the land or in the water, it just sits there. It may eventually break into tiny pieces, but the plastic is still there. I think that a lot of people realize that our landfills are huge, and they know that it's a sad thing to have piles of garbage around the planet. However, I think that the heartbreaking truth about plastic remains largely unknown. Plastic is showing up everywhere in our oceans. In some places, like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (http://www.cdnn.info/news/article/a071104.html), there can even be a trail of hundreds of miles of plastic. People have studied this phenomena, and they have found that regardless of where they are, they can quickly find plastic in the ocean. Sea creatures are ingesting the little pieces of plastic that look close to their natural food, plankton, and we don't necessarily know how these petroleum-based chemicals will affect them or the creatures up the food chain from them (including humans!) Additionally, dead birds are being found with their bellies full of large, and clearly lethal, plastic pieces.

To get a clearer picture of the large problem of trash in the sea, please watch this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrAShtolieg&feature=related

I'm convinced that this is a problem, but what can I do?

First of all, I'd recommend not getting overwhelmed or panicking. Worrying doesn't solve problems. :) I'll list some basic ideas to consider, and I recommend finding websites that talk about the issue and ideas for solutions. For example, http://myplasticfreelife.com/ is a blog that is dedicated to the problem of plastics. Here are some good first steps:

1) Get a reusable water bottle and reusable shopping bags, and remember to use them! Stainless steel watter bottles are widely available, and there are many options for shopping bags including mesh and canvas styles.

2) Avoid buying packaged food. Head to the produce section for loose produce, and go to the bulk section to be amazed by the options that you have! Of course, these options make the most sense if you take reusable bags that you can make or buy!

3) Buy less and/or buy used. This is good for the pocketbook, too. :)

4) Consider glass as a good alternative when buying packaged food or food storage containers. It is easily recycled, and you will know that plastic isn't leaching into your food. I have started saving glass jars instead of recycling them, and they work great for food storage.

5) Bring your own mug if you get coffee.

6) Consider using cloth diapers and menstrual products.

In general, I think that just being aware of the plastic that you are using will help you to consider what to work on. People tend to be creative! Use your brain, and you'll be amazed at what you can accomplish! Feel free to comment if you have some other good ideas that I failed to mention.

Thanks for reading this, and I hope that you are inspired to live a love-filled, intentional life by working to reduce your part in the problem of plastic.