Shop Green.Save Money.

Many of us are consistently working toward a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. We have worked hard to create homes that are on their way to being free of poisons, and waste. We recycle. We try not to support factory farming, or slave/child labor in other countries. We buy Fair Trade products when we can. We may even ride a bike to work. But there seems to be one area that we fail. Shopping.

It is the struggle between our conscience and our budget, against our overly tight schedule and the convenient super Wal-mart on the corner, between old habits and new desires. As consumers we can force the retailers and the manufacturers to do it the way we want...but by our spending habits we are showing them that we want what they are dishing out. Low quality products that we can get cheap and replace as needed. Products that are inexpensive in money but expensive in human terms are the items that we consistently put in our plastic grocery bags and Wal-mart bags. When we are working so hard for change in other areas is this really what we want?

Why shop locally? What does that mean?

When you shop locally you are saving money on gasoline, and you are actually saving the environment in many ways from using minimal fossil fuels. It depends, though, where you are shopping when you shop locally. Large chain stores have all but forced the mom and pop stores out of business. When I was a kid we lived about 20 minutes outside of Philadelphia. It was the sixties and there was alot of change happening. One thing I remember is the mom and pop grocery right there on the highway. Hilltop Market. They had cereal, a meat counter and a pickle barrel that emanated the most wonderful smell of kosher dill pickles. The couple that owned the place knew everyone by name and were not adverse to yelling to the huge, smiling man behind the meat counter to "give that cute little girl a pickle!" There were vegetables and fruit beautifully arranged and many of them were form local gardens. When we shopped there we were met with friendliness and help, and we were supporting people that we knew. We could even walk up to the store and walk home with our purchases.

A few years later the area had grown more and a new Unity Grocery chain store was built in a modern strip center. The little grocery closed down because it could not compete with the amount of food the store offered, the variety, the price, and the fact that they gave out S& H Green Stamps! We could no longer walk to the store but had to drive. We were no longer met by smiling faces who knew our names, or gave cute little girls free pickles. Worst of all, the flavors of the foods were bland and insipid. But...they were cheap.

How many times has this been repeated? In doing so we have put a strain on the environment by requiring strawberries in January, and imported New Zealand Lamb. Waiting until June for strawberries and eating locally grown meats would be so much wiser.

You think I am crazy, don't you? You can really do this by shopping at garage sales and thrift shops. First of all, you won't pay taxes at garage sales. Isn't getting out of paying taxes what a tax shelter is? By buying clothing and other things second hand you are creating a tax shelter and saving money, not only on the clothing you are buying but on the taxes you are not paying. When buying form a thrift shop you are often helping to support a cause, like the Salvation Army, my personal favorite mall of all time!

Let's look at this more closely. I normally spend about $50.00 every autumn for each of my children's clothes for the fall/winter season. I have six kids at home. They were designer clothing, outfits by such children's clothing manufacturers as French Toast, Old Navy, Mousefeathers, Little Me, and others. I don't buy things with stains or tears, and normally I do not pay over $3.00 for an outfit. For $300.00 all of our kids are dressed well, and I would be lucky to provide clothes for one of them for that at the local mall. I have saved money, not only on the items themselves but on the taxes I pay for those items. If I have gotten them at a garage sale I haven't paid taxes at all. If I have gotten them at the local Salvation Army I have spent about $4.00 in taxes at our current rate. If I bought the same thing at the mall at the same rate I would have spent $24.00! In shopping this way I sheltered approximately $20.00 in taxes per child, or $120.00. I can also donate those same clothes back to that charity and write off the value on my income tax. Sweet.

But that isn't all. By shopping for used items I have not been responsible for a manufacturer's factory to be open and running electricity and power. I have not been responsible for the fossil fuels used to transport the materials and the items across the world. This is recycling at it's best. The fact that I am supporting a cause I believe in at the same time is just...well...gravy.

Whenever you buy something it uses resources and creates trash. Living simply is one of the best insurance policies against creating an environmental nightmare. Before you buy, ask yourself a few questions;

1. Do I really need it?

2. Is there another way to procure it?

3. Can I use something else, preferably that I own, and accomplish the same task?

4. Can I fix what I all ready have?

5. Can I get it second hand?

6. Is there an eco friendly company that produces it?

In thinking this way you will automatically begin saving money and supporting companies that you feel are important to support.

Consider some of these sources for buying things:

Craigslist

Freecycle

eBay

Salvation Army Thrift Stores

Goodwill Industries

Community supported second hand shops

Church supported second hand shops

Garage Sales

Also consider asking yourself some of these questions:

1. Is it cruelty free? Is there a version that is?

2. Fair Trade?

3.Chemicals?

4.Organic?

5.Genetically Engineered?

6.Can I recycle it when I am done?

7. Can I make it myself?

8. Is it good quality?

9. Can I afford it without going into debt?

10. Do I really need it now?

7.Is it a socially responsible business?

Using canvas bags to shop is great. It saves trees and it saves the environment from all that plastic.

But it isn' t enough. It is a start and that is all it is. Learning to live on less, learning to buy wisely, and to buy for quality rather than with the idea that we can replace it in a year or two..well these are the attitudes we need to cultivate. It sickens me to see the amount of cars in the parking lot of the Wal-mart by us. It is open 24 hours and people are shopping 24 hours. I drive by there and all I can think about is the amount of power they are using and the fact that the consumers are buying products that are cheaply made and will fall apart and need to be replaced in a few months, many of those products being produced in foreign sweatshops.

People wonder how our large family can live on a single income and do well. Living simply and moving toward self reliance are the ways we have found to be easy on the earth and also allow us to be financially secure in a time of economic instability. We change our lives one habit at a time. Start today.