It’s easy to forget that all the products we buy leave an imprint on our planet. Today, the wealthiest countries consume resources as if we had more than 4 planets. Emissions that are linked to consumption of food, electronics, clothing, and furniture have in particular increased sharply. Over the past 20 years, consumption has contributed to a steady increase in emissions in the countries we import from.
Through Agenda 2030, the world’s leaders have committed to work to meet 17 global goals for sustainable development. Until 2030, we will achieve several fantastic things. We must then have eliminated all forms of poverty, reduced inequalities, solved the climate crisis and worked to create peace and justice.
The year 2030 is not far off. In order for us to achieve these global goals and create sustainable development, we must, among other things, change and review our own consumer behavior. It is therefore important that we stop and reflect on what sustainable consumption really means.
Consume wiser
Black Friday is a sign of how quickly ideas are spreading globally today and that Black Friday can help create stress.
The idea is that stores must hang on, in order to not lose consumers. The situation can create a feeling of deficiency in the consumer and it can lead to stress to buy something that you may not need.
How we handle our consumer behavior has a big impact on what our world will look like in the future. A change to sustainable development means, among other things, that we must stop over-consuming goods and services and that the goods we still choose to buy are produced under sustainable conditions with consideration for both people and the environment.
Tips on how you can contribute to more sustainable consumption:
1. Choose nicely produced products
Shop for products that are produced with consideration for both man and the environment. Therefore, select Faritrade-branded and organic products to a greater extent.
2. Influence
Contact the companies behind your favorite brands. Let them know that you as a consumer want to buy products that are produced in pleasant conditions and that do not have a negative impact on people and the environment. It is important that companies take full responsibility for the products they sell.
3. Invest in buying quality instead of quantity
Buy goods that last longer, so you shop less often and save money.
4. Impulse trading less
Think through the purchases and let the decisions mature. When you do impulse shopping, you often buy more than you really need and things you don’t need.
5. Repair and repair
Make your broken gadgets instead of throwing and buying new ones.
6. Buy second hand
Try to buy some of your used gear and clothing and create new ones from old ones.
7. Change your buying behavior in small steps
If it feels overwhelming, then take small steps. You don’t have to change everything at once. Taking small steps can have a big impact in the end.
Fairtrade is about opening up to an international trade based on respect for human rights and concern for the environment. At the heart of Fairtrade’s work is poverty reduction. By eradicating all forms of poverty, we will have a greater opportunity to fight the climate crisis, because if it is difficult to get the money for food and clothing, then the concern for the environment will be second to none. Let today be the starting point for a sustainable lifestyle
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