Simple Changes

Decide to track all of your purchases for one month, from groceries, to clothing, to gifts and contributions, to entertainment. 

At the end of the month, examine your list of purchases and ask these questions. (This might be a good exercise to do with a friend or family member.)

• Do you think they say something about you? If so, what? 
• Do you remember your mindset for some of the purchases (were you happy, sad, conflicted, neutral?)
• Are you surprised about how much or little you purchased?
• What sort of environmental impact do you think these purchases had? (Think about packaging, where they were made, how they got to you, etc.)
• How about social impact?  Do you know who made, or who helped to make what you purchased?

Write down your responses and then think about ways you can make some changes. For example, many grocery products are fair trade certified, which means that your purchase guarantees a fair wage, good working conditions and opportunities for the people who had a hand in making your product. 

Coffee, tea, chocolate, some fruit, flowers, rice and other products are certified fair trade in the US and Canada. (Look for the black and white label, or visit www.transfairusa.org or www.transfair.ca for more information.)

Are there areas where you could cut down your consumption? Could you replace certain items with ones that are more environmentally or socially responsible? Could you give more to organizations that care for the poor and hungry?

Make two or three goals (I’ll switch my coffee purchases to fair trade; Instead of buying those new shoes, I’ll donate the money I would have spent to a women’s shelter, etc.) Work and pray to stick to these goals for the next month.

At the end of the month, examine your success. Did you notice yourself thinking more about when and why you purchase?  What you purchase? Was it easier than expected? Harder?

You can work through this type of exercise each month, reexamining and making new goals as you go along. You might be surprised at the changes you make when you become more aware of what you're doing!