Just One Step.

Since beginning this blog, and more specifically my series on the policies of stores in my local mall, I've been humbled and encouraged as people have approached me, called me, and sent me messages to say that they've been challenged by my musings, and are trying to be more intentional with their purchases.  I'm excited to hear people are choosing to consider how and where their consumer goods are made before buying them.

But I've also, in a few instances, been met with a little bit of resistance.  I've had people brush off the topic in conversation, flat out tell me they don't care, or send me messages telling me I'm being harsh. While I'm initially shocked, and more than a little frustrated by these reactions, after some considerations, I can understand their reactions.  Changing the way the economic system works is neither easy nor quick.  Maybe I sound ridiculous suggesting that if we make different consumer choices, we can affect change in the lives of people around the world.  When faced with huge, international issues like child labour, slave labour, unfair wages and unsafe working conditions, trying to make a difference can seem very daunting.  The size of the problems can choke us, make us feel useless, and lead us to believe we'll never succeed in changing the systems that disadvantage so many.  And we'd rather ignore it, pretend we don't care, and go on living our lives like everything is just fine, than feel like we failed.  And it's easy to do.  We don't see those who suffer so that we can have our choice of $8 t-shirts.  We don't know their names or their stories, so it's easy to ignore.

The problems are huge.  They are overwhelming.  And there's no way that one person can fix them on their own, or in a short period of time.  This is a long-term project, one that requires everyone jump on board.  A year from now, we'll still be discussing the same issues, because they will still be issues.  But maybe they won't be in 2045 if we choose to make some small changes.  All it takes to be part of the movement is one small step.  Rather than look at the vastness of the problems, or your limitations, think of one thing you can do to move in the right direction, commit to doing it for a period of time, and when it becomes habit, just another way of life, think of another.  But that's getting ahead of ourselves.

Here are some small steps you can take to join the movement, without the complete upheaval of your entire being:

1.  Commit to purchasing only fair trade coffee, tea, or chocolate for a year.  Pick the one you consume the most, and move towards buying only those made in fair environments and from sustainable sources.

2. Commit to buying less of something you usually purchase, that may be made in harmful conditions.  Clothing, sugar, coffee, etc.  Pick one that you could probably cut back on and start using the money you usually spend on those on something life-giving, that benefits others.  Be specific with this.  If you just commit to "buying less clothes," you're not really going to know whether or not you were successful.  Make yourself a budget for the year, or determine how many shirts you usually buy in a year and decide to buy half that amount this year.

3. Commit to supporting, and partnering with, a charity that is doing good work and helping those who our systems have disadvantaged work toward a better future.  Support them financially.  If you haven't written giving into your budget, maybe consider what consumer goods you spend most of your money on, reduce how much you purchase, and donate what's left.

4. Commit to purchasing clothes and other items second-hand. It's inexpensive, environmentally friendly, and socially conscious.

5. Find a few stores that you like that are doing their part to ensure people aren't harmed in the making of their products.  Commit to purchasing only from these stores for a year.  If you can't find what you need at them, see if you can find it second hand, or get it made locally.

These are just a few ideas. I'm sure there are a million more small steps we can take to move in the direction of socially conscious consumerism.  All it takes to start is one small step.  Choose one thing that you can do, one change you can make.  If you're feeling overwhelmed by the problem, focus rather on the one small thing that you can do to be a part of the solution.

Confessions of a Justice Blogger

This blog is going to be a little different from my last few.  I'm writing today not to inspire you to make different consumer choices, or to talk about injustice facts, but to confess.  I've come to the conclusion lately, that I need to re-assess how I treat people and engage in conversations with them.  Two things led me to this conclusion.  First, I'm currently reading Donald Miller's new book "scary Close", which is a great book about intimacy and how we can only gain true intimacy by living with integrity.  It talks a lot about healthy people and unhealthy people, and how unhealthy people manipulate others to get what they want, and it keeps them from intimacy.  Secondly, over the Easter weekend I got into a debate with my dad about something I felt very passionately about, and in the heat of the argument I made a statement, with no explanation, which automatically put walls up.  There was a lot of anger and tears and the debate stopped immediately.

These two things got me thinking - I talk a lot about justice and treating people with dignity, and I find it easy to do when it comes to the marginalized, but my actions towards the people in my life, the ones I know the best, often do not mirror these values.  When my husband and I argue, I often play the victim, manipulating the situation so that he'll do whatever it is I want out of guilt.  It sounds horrible when I write it out, and I don't do it consciously, but I definitely do it.  But that is not treating my husband with dignity and respect, nor is it conducive to a deep, right relationship.

"Justice is what love looks like in public." (Cornell West)  I agree with this quote completely, but sometimes I think it's harder doing justice in private.  It's easy for me to avoid certain brands I know aren't respectful of their workers, it's easy for me to volunteer for a good cause, or give to a charity who is doing great things.  What I find difficult is respecting and loving those closest to me when I don't agree with what they're saying or doing, or when they've hurt me.  Suddenly my definition of justice gets distorted and becomes about being right and getting the respect I deserve, rather than being in right relationships, and giving the respect and love others deserve.

This realization saddens me a little because, like I said, it's easy to change  a consumer habit - inconvenient, maybe, but really not very hard.  Changing how you react when you're hurt or frustrated, that's a little more challenging.  Deciding to treat others with dignity when they're doing or saying something you think is wrong takes a lot of work, self-reflection, and a lot of intervention on God's part.

I don't know how to change my tendency to re-define justice when I get emotional, but I know it needs to change.  And that's the first step - right?

I've always been an emotional person, and I don't think emotions are bad, but I do need to learn how to control them, so that they don't control me.  It'll be hard work, and not something I can change easily or quickly.  "But thanks be to God, who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:57)  I am a new creation in Him, and He will continue the good work He started in me until He returns.

There is hope for my hardened heart yet.

A Note for the Easter Bunny

Somehow in our culture, the Son of God submitting himself to death on the cross for our sake, and the miracle of his resurrection, causes us all to eat, and purchase, a whole lot of chocolate.  In fact, according to statisticbrain.com, approximately 120 million pounds of candy is purchased annually this time of year.  That's a whole lot.  I'm still not sure how Jesus' death and resurrection got turned into a giant bunny that lays chocolate eggs, but let's save that for another time.

As you all know, I've recently been on a bit of an ethical consumerism kick.  So, I just wanted to drop a short note to those of you who are last minute people and still haven't purchased your Easter chocolate yet.  The craziest thing about Easter is the amount of chocolate we purchase for the occasion.  Because of this, it's really easy for people to make the excuse that they can't afford to purchase Fair Trade or ethically sourced chocolate - it'll cost so much!  But I'd like to take a moment to suggest the opposite.  We can't afford NOT to.

I'm by no means an economic expert, but I do know this much: supply and demand help determine the prices of consumer goods.  There is a massive supply of labour in this world, and not enough demand, which means in many cases, you can get it for really cheap.  Like, cents. Much of our chocolate can be purchased cheaply because the people picking the cocoa beans are paid next to nothing. Let's turn the tables for a second.  If you're a parent purchasing chocolate for your children, I'd like you to consider for just a moment the parents of the children producing your non-Fair Trade chocolate.  If you were this parent, I have a feeling that you would be less than pleased that your child was working in dangerous conditions, for little, or often no pay, so that people on the other side of the ocean could pay a couple dollars less for their child's chocolate bunny.  So before you make the excuse that it's too expensive to buy Fair Trade chocolate this Easter, I'd like you to ask yourself one question: What's more important, the amount of chocolate in your child's Easter basket, or the freedom, health and safety of someone else's child?

I sincerely hope the answer to this question is obvious.

I really am not trying to sound judgemental here.  But I think in our Western, consumer society, we often forget the price at which we purchase our consumer goods, and I don't mean in dollars.  I hope only to open your eyes to the cost of filling your child's Easter basket with the least expensive chocolate you can find.  Yes, it can be expensive to purchase Fair Trade, which is why I like to live by the saying "everything in moderation."  Do we really want our children to have that much chocolate anyway?   It's not good for them, and when they crash from the sugar high and start throwing temper tantrums, it'll just mean a bigger headache for you!  So let's save our children from the unhealthy amounts of chocolate, ourselves from migraines, and the producers of our chocolate from unfair labour standards, all at the same time, and just purchase less, ethically sourced chocolate this Easter.

So now, while you rush to the store tomorrow or Saturday to pick up chocolate to fill those Easter baskets with, here's a list of chocolates you can find at your local grocery store, that are Fair Trade or ethically sourced:

http://nochildforsale.ca/ethical_chocolate/

For more information on chocolate, and why it's a good idea to purchase Fair Trade or ethically sourced chocolate, take a look at this article:

http://www.ctvnews.ca/lifestyle/the-dark-side-of-easter-chocolate-1.2293971


Happy Easter everyone!  He is Risen!