I believe most people are good
so if we want to be a more conscious consumer, how can we know for sure that companies do what they claim?
As I started down this journey of becoming more knowledgeable about the production of items and their impact on the environment, I have struggled some with how I can know for sure that the companies I am supporting do indeed follow the practices and stand up to their statements the way they say they do. Sure any company can claim to pay their employees fair wages, take steps towards becoming more environmentally friendly and practice responsible business but how do you know for sure?
I really struggled with this when it came time to purchase my wedding dress… I had researched several sustainable wedding designers but the dress I found and loved was by a designer I had not read anything about. While taking some time to make sure this was indeed the dress before pulling the trigger and writing a check, I looked up their site and found where in their mission statement they claim to work with their overseas partners to ensure safe and ethical working conditions using quality materials. While that gave me immediate relief and I felt that I could move forward with my purchase with a clean conscience I couldn’t help but also think yeah that sounds great and all but what proof do they have?
Unfortunately in the apparel industry, the factories used, wages paid, raw material supply chain, etc. are none things that are commonly and clearly disclosed. That is one of the key things that makes becoming a conscious consumer difficult. In the case of my wedding dress I sent an email to the designer’s customer service team asking some of the questions I had and to my surprise I received a very nice response explaining how they select their overseas partners and how they maintain a close working relationship with them.
The more I have thought on this topic the more I lean towards the conclusion that while you can do a good bit of research and become more informed than you were before, there still comes a point where you have to trust people. It reminds me of a Luke Bryan song that came out this past year titled “I Believe Most People are Good.” I think in this day and age with as much negativity and evil that is out there, you have to look at life with a positive attitude and believe that most people are good. So bottom line - yes do your research that is our job as conscious consumers, but once you have dug as much as you can and struggle with the trust issue - I am going to go with believing that most people are good and wouldn’t claim to have certain checks and processes in place if they very well know that is not true.
But if even after all of that you are still a skepticist… or just need some help with the research and digging… below are a few tools that I like to use to feel educated and informed when determining if I want to support a company or not.
tips for becoming a more conscious consumer:
Read up on the industry, “Wear No Evil” by Greta Eagan is one of the first books I read on this topic and a great way to learn the basics and get started
Reading not your thing? “The True Cost” is a great documentary to watch and I wrote on it as well
Follow other blogs and sites like mine (one of my favorites is the good trade)
Check Brand policy pages - good companies will share their practices if they have nothing to hide
Look for brand certifications such as fair trade certified, b corporations, etc.
Download the “Good on you” app - allows you to check brand ratings and discover new brands
Start shopping at Wonderful Things for a lot of day to day items, their curated items are sustainably, ethically, or American made and ship with convenience of Amazon
Do like I did with my wedding dress and email the brand directly asking the questions you want answered
And lastly use a little common sense, if you find a cute pair of jeans with an MSRP of $25 it is probably pretty safe for you to assume it is not quality materials made by someone in safe working conditions being paid fair wages
I hope you have found this helpful, would love to know how you approach the decision to support a company or not as well as any questions you may have - feel free to leave any comments or questions below!