Shopping is everything that we buy, including food, furniture, clothes, appliances and personal care products.

Relationship to the four root causes: Things we buy are often made from or contain stuff from the Earth’s crust and also human-made compounds that are foreign to nature. Both of these can build up faster than nature can cope. Also, the ways in which our purchases are produced may use unsafe or unfair working conditions which can make it difficult for the workers to meet their needs.

Opportunity: Choose what we buy with a careful eye to what our purchases support. We can also be aware of what products may or may not build up in nature. Here are some more environmental choices.

Before shopping ask yourself:

Do I really need this product?

• Can you re-use something you already have?
• If you only need the product for a short time, can you borrow or rent it?
• If you have to buy it, can you share the cost and responsibility of owning with others?

• As a co-op member, you can partner up and choose to purchase items the whole co-op can use, things like: power tools and other items that can be shared.
• Members can also chip in to make bulk purchases of items like food and paper supplies. This saves money for members and cuts down on the fossil fuels needed to bring items from the store and reduces the amount of packaging added to the landfill.

How was this item produced?

If you don’t know the answer, ask. If your vendor doesn’t know, ask them to find out. This will help you understand where your dollars are going and what you are supporting. Consider also:

How does this product affect my health?

Huge numbers of products on the market today contain chemicals that are either known to be harmful to human health or which have never been tested for human safety. Get to know about the risky ingredients of your purchases. You might be surprised how many there are. Consider too that children can be more vulnerable than adults to exposure to harmful chemicals.

What will I do with this when I no longer need it?

Before you buy, consider what the ultimate fate of your product will be. Are you buying something that can be recycled? If you are making a large purchase like an appliance, will the manufacturer take it back when you are done with it to recycle and/or reuse parts, or will it just go to the landfill?