Everything used in 2010

I read a book late last year that has totally changed how I view the world I live in. It was Everyday Justice by Julie Lawson. I highly recommend it and if you don't want to buy it b/c you are cutting back you can borrow mine! I was interested in this book b/c it shared with me things that I am doing that are supporting things like slave labor and company waste from products that I have purchased.

In case you haven't figured it out yet Justice issues are a passion of mine and I am disgusted at how even though we don't think we are contributing to what goes on in another country, the fact is...we are! The truth is I can't buy everything that supports fair trade or that is green, and I think a lot of people feel the same way. Why do it? I can't afford to live like that. In Julie's book she reassures us that as long as we are making small steps then we are making a difference. One big drastic step I took was to make sure that every coffee I buy is fair trade. I had to stop going to my local coffee shop b/c they told me that their coffee is not purchased under fair trade. Will the coffee shop go under b/c I am not there anymore? Highly unlikely, but I feel better that I am not contributing to a company that does not want to pay their farmers a fair wage for the coffee they purchase.

The main point of this post is to not share with you fair trade but to share with you that in our house we have decided that no matter what we purchase in 2010 we will look to used product first. Not only does it save money in the long run but it causes for less production from the manufacturers. Somebody is always selling something that is "like new" or "gently used", but for some reason we think we always want new. Of course there will possibly be things that come our way that we will need to purchase brand new and we are aware of that, but for 2010 our major focus will be to look at used first and go from there.

The crazy thing is that we as consumers only see the final project. We don't see the waste that goes into making the product or the labor involved in making it. So if we don't support that environment then why would we continue to buy new? Yes we're still buying the same product but we are buying one that has already been checked off in the corporate world. Plus we are saving money along the way. That is a huge perk.