consumerism

responsible consumerism means taking time to consider the effect you have on the world around you through the things that you buy.

our western society is obsessed with possessions. we are constantly buying and using and throwing away things. because we live on a finite planet, this system of consumerism cannot be sustained. it is selfish and unwise to continue living like this because it means we are making people on the other side of the world pay for our luxurious way of living. as a generation that has been raised to be the most avid consumers this world has seen yet, we must break the habit and start a new movement: responsible consumerism

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1.25

2.50

3.75

5.00

average North American

Waste Produced By North Americans

poun

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te p

rodu

ced

19782008

*www.storyofstuff.com

*

resources

this is the story of our stuff:

are collected, often by harming the environment, and sent to the

homes,store.factories garbageeven though we are producing

much too much waste, and have no where to put it all!

and they use these products for a short time and then throw

them in the

people come and buy buy buy and take more stuff than they need back to their

where lots of waste is

produced until a product is ready

to go to the

67%

33%

in the past three decades, one third of the planet’s natural

resources have been consumed.if we continue to consume at

this rate, we are in BIG trouble.

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*www.storyofstuff.com

there are three practical ways we can begin to be more responsible consumers:

2. gliving.tv/news/the411onfairtrade1. http://keetsa.com/blog/eco-friendly/working-in-an-eco-friendly-office-setting/

3. www.churchtimes.co/uk/501094. recycle symbol

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-replace your light bulbs with CFL’s (which use less energy and last longer)-don’t buy bottled water-instead of driving, buy a bike-shop with reusable shopping bags-buy items that are easily recyclable

-shop local-buy used when possible-read clothing company policies on child labour before purchasing their merchandise-buy coffee and chocolate (and any other groceries that you can) at a fair trade shop-look for the fair trade mark on labels *

*http://www.beverley.gov.uk/Uploads/Site476/Images/fairtrade.jpg

-don’t upgrade your old technology until it is absolutely necessary-choose to own less clothing-don’t eat out as often-instead of birthday or Christmas gifts, give a charitable donation in someone’s name

and by paying attention in these three areas, we may be able to create a more sustainable consumer model for our world . . .