Consumers have a lot of power in todays market place.
Where you choose to spend your money can have a huge effect on many things such as the environment or human rights issues.
We take something as simple as going to the supermarket to buy a bar of chocolate, a jar of coffee or a box of eggs for granted but your decision can have far reaching consequences that you might never think about.
You might not think that your decision to buy or not to buy a particular product will have any bearing on the way that the company who owns that brand or product will trade but you'd be surprised at just how much power consumers have when they put their mind to it.
Individual actions, when multiplied by hundreds, thousands or even millions of times hit companies where it hurts - in the pocket.
Most companies only care about one thing - and thats profit. Anything that affects that, whether it be bad publicity, slump in sales or even boycotts, has the ability to turn the heads of even the most hard nosed of CEO's and force them to change.
But just how easy is it to be an ethical consumer when there is so much choice about?
I'd say the most important thing you can do is to learn to read the labels on the products you buy - and I mean the labels on everything. Coffee, chocolate, wine, detergents, jeans, newspapers, electronics. Anything you purchase.
You are spending your money - don't you want to know where it is going?
You can start with small steps if the thought of making wholesale changes to your shopping habits is too much to bear but the important thing is to do it.
Not only will you be helping to protect the environment but you will also be protecting the human rights of often exploited people around the world.
In this day and age of a global market many once familiar household brands are now owned by much bigger multinational corporations and it can often be hard to know who exactly owns what.
Which is why it is important to read the labels and, if you want to be extra clued up - do your homework.
Many brands that you think are ethical could be owned by a much bigger company that you might not actually want to contribute to so it is even more important to know your stuff as companies often get bought out and sold on.
Ethical Consumer is a great website to use & I recently found this article which you might find useful and a good starting point if you want to become more ethical in your shopping habits.
Remember that you don't have to make wholesale changes to the way you shop (good if you can, but its not always practical) but any change is a step in the right direction.
Together, with each small step we can make a difference.
