Check Before You Buy.
Do you check before you buy?
Have you noticed the number of businesses out there that use words such as “Green”, “Eco- Friendly”, “Organic” or “Environmental” in their advertising or on their web sites?
If you’re like me, you translate this to mean they are committed to saving the environment, recycling or reducing their footprint etc.
I’ve recently come across several businesses using these terms in social media platforms and decided to check them out.
I found myself asking such questions as:
Are their values clearly displayed or do they even exist?
How are their products made or manufactured?
Where are the products made- locally or off shore?
Are they made by hand or mass produced?
Do they hold themselves accountable in any way for their impact on the environment?
As I started looking and digging, I asked more and more questions.
I was surprised as well as disappointed with what I found hidden behind these “clean” profiles.
Products being marketed and sold in one country but made in another 3rd world country. OK financially, but what about the image they present? With low standards in wages, work place health and safety and little to no quarantine on environmental welfare, these 3rd world countries were an easy way to cheaply produce “Green” or “Eco Friendly” products without the ethical responsibility.
I’m not perfect either, but….
Don’t get me wrong – I’m far from the perfect business model for what is “Green”, “Eco – Friendly” or “Organic”.
I’m trying, though. I :
- Have aligned my business and personal values.
- Try to follow a life style and business ethic that is gradually moving closer and closer to an environmentally friendly way of living.
- Try to be honest and up front about what exactly goes into making each of my products.
- Hand make every piece I sell [ Not very viable financially, but it sits more comfortably with me morally].
- Am also working towards 100% of each product I make being made from natural or recycled materials – even the jewellery findings!
So, after all of that, what’s my message?
If you really want to help the environment, do some checking before you purchase.
Is organic as organic as it says? Is it really “Green”? Where is it made? What’s it made with or from? How it’s made and who makes it?
If you can’t find the answers to questions like these, then you have your answer. It may not be what it appears to be.
