Shopping Green

I don't really understand why people are so obsessed with shopping nowadays. After all, it's important to remember that the exhileration of buying something-- whether it be a new gadget, appliance, pastime, or "necessary" object-- wears off very quickly. Once you leave the store and get home, you fiddle around with your new toy for a while and then throw it off to the side.
Sound all too familiar? Take a look at some of my tips for shopping "green":

1. Only buy it if you NEED it. Before buying anything (well, apart from food and eco-friendly shampoo, I suppose), complete this process:
1. Write the name of the product down on a list, and go home.
2. Once you get home, ask yourself again if you really need it. How will it change your life? Will it cause more harm than good? What are the pros and cons, anyway? Can it cause health problems? After a few days, will it simply gather dust?
3. Research the environmental impact of what you wanted to buy. Is it still worth it?
4. Finally, wait as long as you can before going back to the store. Then decide: do you really want it after all?
2. Educate yourself on advertising tricks that the companies use to make you want to buy their products. For example, an effective ploy used by industry is to use the words, "essential", "natural", or "necessary" on the packaging. They use attractive symbols and colours to make you think that this product was meant for you. Apparently, the colour red makes you hungry (but seeing that I am a vegan, it doesn't work on me! Besides, the colour red is too strong for my eyes.). They also use tricks such as implying that:
• Everybody has one. Why don't you?
• You'll look cool, beautiful, etc. if you use this.
• You'll be behind the times if you don't have one.
3. When you do have to buy something, always go with the most environmentally-friendly option. For example, if you want to get some crayons for the kid you babysit, look out-- crayons are coated in toxins. Try to buy things that have labels like "organic", "no preservatives", "free of animal testing and by-products", etc. It is also just better for your health to avoid toxins and the like.
4. Shop from environmental stores. Although big chains like WalMart and Canadian Tire may sell the same product that you are looking for, it is better to buy from smaller businesses-- regardless of higher costs. That way, you are supporting that small store from going out of business, and that's important because they are an outlet for many environmentally-friendly products.
5. If there is something that you would like for yourself, wait until Christmastime or your birthday. I figure that if people are going to give me a present anyway, it might as well be something that I would buy with my own money if they didn't give it to me. ;)

Well, that's my rant for this week. See you later!