Catherine Bennett recently wrote in The Guardian, “Shopping is not going to save the planet, but without it what will green consumers have left?”

Although I don't agree with her, I think its a worthy question to ask. So in answer to Catherine, I would boldly say that yes, shopping can save the planet. BUT I think you can only say this when you consider what we are actually doing when we shop.

When we choose to buy something, remember we are at the same time taking the decision not to buy something. This I think is the crucial point.

Making that choice not to buy is an important signal; to other shoppers, companies and brands. Not buying is an essential part of how the green and ethical movement grew up. Over the years we saw committed green consumers boycotting certain companies such as Nestle for their marketing of dried baby milk in Africa. Over the years we have boycotted buying products from whole countries, like in the 1980s during Apartheid in South Africa. In saying no, we were also giving out strong signals about what we actually wanted.

In buying Fairtrade, we can say that we want farmers and workers to make a decent living. In buying organic produce, we are saying we don't want an agricultural system that relies heavily on man-made chemicals or GM technology. In choosing to buy from our local shops, we can say we want our independent retailers to survive and help support some vibrancy in our local high streets. And don't forget its not just about the food you buy, there are equally important choices to make in how we run our households – we buy clothes, electricity, gas, phone lines, furniture, double glazing, we have bank accounts, mortgages, insurance. The list is endless and becomes very significant when you add business procurement into the mix. Businesses do an awful lot of shopping.

So I say lets fly the flag for ethical shopping. Lets ditch the guilt. If we remember that whenever we buy we are also not buying, we will start to be conscious consumers. Ethics Girls is all about by putting some meaning back into shopping and I hope others will start listening to the message in our shopping baskets.

ciao

sam

Sam Roger is the Director and Founder of Ethics Girls. Prior to Ethics Girls she worked for Equal Exchange for just over 10 years. She has been an active member of the co-operative movement for 8 years.