I was interviewed recently by the mom shopping expert Chele at Moms Love Shopping
and it is now available for listening here. We talked about the plastics habit, inverse quarantine and the book Shopping Our Way to Safety, and I shared the 7 questions you need to ask yourself in order to shop green. You MUST go and listen to the interview but here is the cliff notes version of my seven tips:
1. Do I really need and want this – can I get by without it? Sometimes the answer might be to STOP shopping.
2. Is it made from renewable, or nonrenewable resources? We are always going to want to choose renewable resources where we can. Also, no renewable resource are used to ship items around the world so shopping locally is VERY helpful and it supports your local economy.
3. Is it made of recycled materials and is it recyclable? Buy products that come in containers you know you will be able to recycle later on.
4. Can it be maintained and repaired? Or is it one of those products that once it breaks you pretty much have to throw it out and buy new.
5. Could I borrow, rent or buy it secondhand?
6. Is it overpackaged? It is wrapped in plastic and then wrapped again a cardboard box?
7. Can it be reused?
I hope you enjoy the interview…thanks Chele for asking me to come and chat with you!
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Great tips! Thanks for sharing them! Is it me or are there only six tips?
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I know I am sometimes guilty of buying something cheap that falls apart and then can’t even be recycled. I am trying to think about spending more on sustainable products rather than getting sucked into “bargains.” Thanks for the tips!
Thanks so much for being a wonderfully informative guest, Tiffany! I’m hearing great feedback about your tips so far! =)
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Great list! Coincidentally I posted something similar on my recent Earth Day post, The Origins of Reduce Reuse Recycle, though yours covers ‘the other two R’s as well’. Added a link to your list to my post… and printing it out to keep by the computer for late night shopping reminders!
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