Ethically Conscious Babe: My Starter Pack
I first encountered this store in dalston, london and i have not looked back. As someone with strict dietry demands, this is honestly one of the few places i can go in and not have to think too much. I can literally do my entire food shop here, and know my values are also reflected. Previously, i had to ordeer via the ethical superstore and wait days which was a tiny bit of a damper but now, i can just go to the shops and re-fill on the day. it's fantastic.
Honestly babes, this is where i buy my seeds, loose teas, nuts and all other bits and pieces in bulk for my pantry without breaking the bank. Best part, this is a small UK company that's been around for years and i do so love supporting small uk companies these days. My favourite things that i buy from here are the eucalyptus loose tea , nettle loose tea and whole cloves for tea. It's been a total game changer for my millenial body.
Babes, i found this store when i decided to move away from shopping on amazon and shopping more ethically. This is another uk company with some amazing initiatives like their 20% off food bank friday to support newcastle food bank. Like what?! so amazing. This is the kind of thing that makes me so so happy to see.
Babes, imagine this, especially in this economy, a uk online shop that specializes in selling you surplus and short-dated food and at the same time saving you a shit ton of money annnd, saving the bloody planet. It blew my mind when i happened across it and honestly, for products that normally cost and arm and i leg, i pop my head on there first before the usual place i buy from.
I once wanted a pair of veja's but baby, those babies are £100 plus these days. Of course, i thought to myself, hey, I have £7 on my vinted credit, let me see if i can buy a pair on there for that much. And I did. I haven't looked back. I've also sold so many pieces on there, usually till in good tick for whatever price is offered because the point isn't to make money but to have a more humane approach to trading with other humans and also keeping stuff out of land fill.
Baby, when i say i love to give away bits and bobs I don't use on this sharing app, i mean it. I was raised on community actions like this and honestly, in the west its needed. Some friends don't get it because they would rather sell it and look at it as a failing but that's them and not me. As a former shopaholic, this was a great way to share my good fortune with someone else.
Community / Local focused actions
buying from individual vendors or small business more over nationwide stores
donating to most vulnerable over corporations (women etc)
shopping at charities like traid who actively have sales for everything £1.50 that helps homeless people on the day to day.
Actions that support this change to be more ethical
charity donations factored into the pricing of oldgal fangal devotion pieces from jump. as well as making sure the pieces themselves are durable in that they wash well and hold their shape so you hang on to them alot longer.
soap bars over plastic shampoo bottles
gel mask over single use sheet masks
refillable deodorant vs traditional single use plastic canisters
actively buying climate and fairtrade friendly products. not just clothes but damn near almost everything
creating spaces for people with these similar values so that i can increase the impact.
not giving up proactively just because the tide (if the media is to be believed) has turned to less progressive trends.
support organisations that lobby governments and businesses not to abandon ethical practices when trends or governments change.
pouring into radical women led medical initiatives, tech, podcasts, newsletters - you name it. if womankind is to thrive and survive the historically brutal denigration and oppression of humans not atuned to cruelty, then we must create and turn into legacy, businesses, tech, and culture until it feels like it has never been any other way. The time to navigate and survive hostile spaces, cultures and minsdsets has to end if the world is to move beyond needless wars that are quite frankly often some sociopath's inferiority complex. lets be for real.