Sustainable consumerism is about buying products and services that are more sustainable or “greener”. I think globalization and capitalism play big roles in this as we now have the ability to distribute goods all over the planet and companies are given financial incentive to mass produce products cheaply and quickly. Unfortunately cheap and quick usually does not translate into sustainable and “green”. Products often take many trips to reach your local Target or Wal-Mart as labor, manufacturing, processing, and packaging often are done in separate locations. One way to become more sustainable is to look to buy food from local markets as the food will not have the high “food miles” and extra processing required to preserve the item long enough for it to travel. Unfortunately, the cost is still considerably higher since organic, local products are more labor and time intensive than their counterparts. Personally, I will pay an extra cost for certain items such as fruits and vegetables if they are labeled organic but only to a point. My main concern is the processing as I focus more on the health aspects and food mile factor. After this class I am also very skeptical regarding “natural” as a product claim as it could literally mean anything and doesn’t have a clear set of guidelines associated with it. For most things I do shop at Publix or Target as the smaller shops are not as convenient or cost effective for me. I would say about 25% of my food products come from organic/natural food shops which is still greater than most. The bottled water trend is one that I am guilty of as I don’t always take time to bring a water bottle. Recently, I have learned that FGCU tests their water on a regular basis so I have been filling up at fountains around campus.
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