I\'m Summer, a mouthy, sarcastic bitch. I\'m passionate about natural birth, long term breastfeeding, and living naturally. I curse too much, love tattoos, and will some day be crushed to death by my book collection. I homeschool, dream of gardening, and swing to the left. 
Simple Steps To Being A Responsible Shopper
photo credit: andrewarchy
During the swelling of the Nestle storm I read a lot of comments from people saying they just didn’t have the time to research every company out there, so fuck it they’ll just do nothing expect be pissed off at us so-called “perfect” people. At first I assumed they were just being jerks. I mean come on, no one really has the time to research every single company out there.
But then an idea started creeping up in my head. Maybe some people really do think you have to spend 12 hours digging through public records to make sure every company is OK. Maybe they really do think I’m somehow juggling being a mom and being the world’s greatest private detective. Which makes me laugh my ass off since I can’t even juggle doing the laundry and the dishes most days.
Green shopping is important, it is worthwhile, but it seriously is not hard. If you honestly want to be a better consumer but think you can’t because there’s just no way to research every company out there, relax. I’m going to break it down for you in simple steps.
First, buy a copy of The Better World Shopping Guide. No really, do it. It’s a tiny book that covers everything you could every shop for, from cleaning supplies to candy bars. Under each area is a list of the best and worst companies. Boom, research done for you.
So, say you’re at the store buying ice cream. You whip out the book, open it up to Ice Cream, and there you go. The best brands are Straus Family, Stonyfield, Ben & Jerry’s, and Sambazon. The worst are Nestle, Skinny Cow, Haagan Dazs, and Dreyer’s. And then there are plenty of brands in the middle that are not the best, but far better than Nestle. And in case you’re curious it even tells you why the best are the best and the worst are scum. (Haagan Dazs are owned by Nestle, Ben & Jerry’s are socially responsible)
OK, so let’s say you don’t have the book. How do you know which brands to buy? Go though the checklist. First look for brands that are labeled Fair Trade. If it’s got that label on it, buy in bulk. Yes it costs a bit more but that’s because the company isn’t paying for child slaves in other countries. If you can’t find Fair Trade, look for certified organic labels. Yes there are some sucky organics, but overall you’re likely to get mid-range OK brands this way.
So, who should you buy from? Here are the best and worst companies overall. These guys are the ones you should search out first, or avoid with a passion. And if you have any to add to these lists, please let me know!
The best:
- Seventh Generation
- Working Assets
- Eden Foods
- Organic Valley
- Clif Bar
- Honest Tea
- Patagonia
- Tom’s of Maine (this is debated since they were bought by Colgate)
- Ben & Jerry’s
- Aveda
The worst:
- Exxon-Mobil
- Kraft
- Wal-Mart
- Chevron-Texaco
- Pfizer
- Nestle
- General Electric
- Archer Daniels Midland
- General Motors
- Tyson Foods
When all else fails, assume the bigger the company is the more likely they are to be screwing someone over to make a profit. Look for local, small label products.
The phrase “you are what you eat” is usually applied to healthy eating, but I think it can also be applied to your social health. If you are what you eat, what are you putting in your body with the slave trade chocolate or the rainforest destroying fried chicken?
Though this is a simple how-to I certainly wouldn’t tell anyone not to do their research if you want to. Please, by all means feel free to dig as deep as you can on any company and decide for yourself. You can start here:
Businesses for Social Responsibility
Center for Public Integrity
Corporate Accountability
Corpwatch
Ethical Consumer
Fair Trade Federation
Know More
Responsible Shopper
Thank you for posting this. I spent a few hours after your post on Nestle trying to find lists of socially responsible companies but was coming up empty!
This seems like a good idea for the chronically unmotivated. ,