It seems like lately I have been doing a little more shopping than usual. As a general rule, I loathe all shopping with the possible exceptions of music or bookstores. But here it is, the holiday season. I really enjoy giving gifts, but even when I make them myself, I generally have to purchase supplies from somewhere.

So with some of this shopping, I have recently been thinking more about how the simple choices that I make every day have an impact on other people.

For example: If I go to Dunkin Donuts and buy a medium cup of Hazelnut, with cream and one sugar (which I have been known to do), then I will be buying coffee whose growers may not have been paid a fair, living wage. After drinking my coffee, I will be disposing of a Styrophoam cup which will sit in a landfill for 400 years or more and could potentially give me cancer and cause several fish and birds to die. However, if I purchase a medium latte' from the same store, I will be enjoying fair-trade certified coffee which makes up approximately 2% of Dunkin Donuts' coffee sales. I'll also be able to feel better about drinking from a more environmentally friendly paper cup. The choice becomes obvious if I'm willing to stop and think about it.

In some cases, it can be really inconvenient to live with a global consciousness. I love going to thrift stores, but sometimes its nice to get decent, reasonably priced clothes from stores like Old Navy. But the problem is that Old Navy is one of many stores that uses sweatshopsto produce its clothing. The shirt I'm wearing right now was made in the Philippines. Looking at clothing tags could be a really creative way to teach geography to kids, but under most other circumstances, it should be quite distressing if we understand the inhumane working conditions in which our clothes are often produced.


Right now I am beginning to think about ways that I can live more responsibly, but I understand that I have a long way to go. I recognize that I have a lot more to learn. Problems of injustice can seem so huge that it often feels like its not worth doing anything at all. But I can't be satisfied with that conclusion... positive change does happen. Here are some companies and organizations that are already concerned with these issues: global exchange fair trade, co-op america, organic clothes, fair trade certified...

So I sent an email to Dunkin Donuts to commend them on their recent step of introducing fair trade coffee to their menu. But I also challenged them to consider how they can extend fair trade to more of their coffee sales, and I also shared some of the research I found about the effect of Styrofoam cups on the environment. Its a really small thing to do, and they may not even care... but its a start. And its much better than doing nothing.

Let me know your ideas about other small ways we can live more responsibly.