SHOP SMALL, ECO-FRIENDLY, NON-TOXIC, ETHICALLY MADE & SOURCED, MINIMALIST PRODUCT RECOMMENDATIONS
WHY SHOP SMALL?
By shopping small, we support local businesses and small ventures. We build relationships with our neighbors. And we keep our neighborhoods, communities, and cities healthy and vibrant. Additionally, when we shop small, we make an active choice not to support large corporations that all too often are responsible for deepening economic inequality, evading taxes, driving down wages, engaging in monopolistic behavior, and ravaging the environment.
There is a high economic, social, and ecological price to pay for the low cost of mass-produced goods, and we can help build a better world by being more conscious consumers. Paying a few dollars extra might make a minimal difference to you, but when we collectively make conscious choices about our spending, those choices can have significant positive impacts on our communities and beyond.
WHY SHOP ETHICALLY MADE AND SOURCED?
All too often, the cost of low-priced, mass-manufactured goods is human suffering. In today’s global economy, most manufacturing is done in factories remote from end consumers with little transparency regarding processes, sourcing, worker wages and conditions, and environmental impact.
By shopping ethically-made and sourced, we leverage our power as consumers to demand accountability from producers. Especially when it comes to goods and services related to pregnancy, birth, and parenthood, it is incumbent upon us to hold ourselves and others to a higher ethical standard. After all, what we model in our choices will shape our children and the future they inhabit.
WHY SHOP RE-USABLE & ECO-FRIENDLY?
Speaking of our – and everyone’s – children, we face an unprecedented global climatic and ecological crisis. For our own sake, and for the sake of future generations, we absolutely must take rapid action to slow and reverse the damage that has been done to the Earth. Shopping reusable and eco-friendly is one simple, if modest, way that we can all help reduce our ecological footprints as we fight to slow global warming and prevent climate breakdown, and each small step we take to keep material out of landfills and reduce emissions of harmful greenhouse gasses is a step in the right direction.
WHY SHOP NON-TOXIC?
Sadly, major corporations have a long history of negligence and contempt when it comes to our collective health. Although significant strides have been made in consumer protection, far too many everyday products still contain endocrine disruptors and carcinogens.
By shopping non-toxic, we do our small part to protect ourselves and others from the toxins which are now alarmingly plentiful in our day-to-day environments. None of us should be exposed to harmful substances without our knowledge, but it is especially important to protect children from toxic substances as they grow and develop. By shopping non-toxic, we signal with our dollars that a healthy and safe environment is a priority, now, and for the future.
WHY SHOP MINIMALIST?
A recent study found that the choice to have a child has a far greater climate impact, on average, than choices we make about diet, transportation, and travel. Given that parents are major consumers – even if that consumption is driven by love and concern – it is essential that we seek to minimize the impact of our consumption.
By shopping minimalist, we can reduce our ecological and carbon footprints while helping to maintain and restore a healthy Earth that will nourish humans and others for generations to come. Additionally, we might just find that, by consuming less, we enjoy our lives more, and find more time for the things – and most importantly, the people – who really matter.