Seeking a healthier and more conscious life has been the choice of many people. In addition, companies are trying to create a more faithful relationship with consumers, showing their socio-environmental responsibility. And this is the concept of eco-friendly: both the company and the consumer are committed to their surroundings.
At the present time, where we can see unbridled consumption by people and large companies profiting from behind, it's time for the consumer to analyze how their relationship with consumerism is going and how it is possible to start an awareness.
Do we really need that much?
The eco-friendly consumer is one who wants to consume more responsibly. That begins to question where the products it buys come from, how they are produced, what labor is used and even what resources are abstracted from nature to manufacture them.
He is not exactly a “green consumer”, but all attitudes, both in the day-to-day routine and in shopping, will characterize this eco-friendly person. She pays attention to what she buys and knows it's a daily chore.
After all, how much do we really need to survive? How much are we thinking about the raw material taken from nature to manufacture what satisfies us? Do you really use everything you buy? These are questions that point to reflection.
How to become an eco-friendly consumer
If you are thinking of becoming an eco-friendly consumer, here are some tips:
- Reuse: start reusing the things you have at home. Instead of just buying something again, see if you can fix it and fix it. We don't need to get into the fashion of having everything a TV commercial shows us. Believe me, we can be happy without consuming everything they try to sell us! Remember: less is more!
- exchange: start going to solidarity fairs, thrift stores, participate in exchange fairs. Could something you no longer use be useful to someone else? Change clothes with friends. Donate what you no longer need.
- Buy in your own city: How many things do we buy imported, leaving no opportunity for local commerce? Go to fairs, get informed, learn about production. It will be helping to develop local production and not just large companies.
- Opt for organic: It may even be more expensive, but it's good for your health. Maybe what you save now will spend more tomorrow at pharmacies. Think about whether it's really worth it just to buy industrialized things. Opt for organic food and products.
- Do it yourself: we get used to outsourcing everything in our life. Have you thought about it? When was the last time you cooked? Who made his own plate? We are leaving everything to others to do. Instead of buying a ready-made blouse, maybe customize your own? And that dresser you wanted to buy? Is it possible to make one or recycle the old one? Your child's toy? Invent and do it together. You will feel the pleasure of what it is like to do things yourself.
- Pay attention to the materials you buy. Start looking at the packaging. Get to know a little more about the companies that manufacture the product you buy. What do they do for the social environment? Are you caring or not?
Being eco-friendly is not being the boring thing, but being able to identify that we are beings that need nature. And, far beyond the material, there is the living matter demanding our attention! So, be aware!
Text written by Angélica Fabiane Weise from the Eu Sem Fronteiras Team.
