If the Pandemic taught us anything, it's that separation from each other, from ourselves, and from this Earth is a dead end. Fighting for toilet paper, food and home tests shouldn't be our biggest concern, especially when the only ones who benefit from this behavior are big-box corporations suckling at the teat of Capitalism, all the while extorting single-use plastics, shipping resources, and the American consumer in their fear-mongering tactics. What power-hungry Capitalists underestimated was the resiliency and thirst for knowledge that we humans inherently seek. Thus, as consumers, we're becoming more aware.
We have been given the time: time in quarantine, time working from home, hell...just time in general, to do the research, watch the documentaries, and in essence, educate ourselves on what despicable horrors lie behind the art of doing business, and quite honestly, we are sick of it. Manufacturing waste and single-use product waste (like plastics or lithium batteries) to just name a few, are wreaking havoc on both our environment and economic sustainability, and the only real solution we have lies within us. The ability to change how business is done stems from the consumer. Businesses - large or small - want only one thing...to make money. How they make that money is 100% defined by us, the consumer. We live in a great time where there is so much of what we want at our fingertips that we have a conscious choice, hence the movement of Conscious Consumerism was born.
Conscious Consumerism is the ideal that our unique buying practices, specific to us, the individual, can be governed by our "commitment to making purchasing decisions that have a positive social, economic and environmental impact.". This includes supporting businesses that have a moral compass of sorts, who are conscious of the well-being of employees and animals, and all things environmental, and not too concerned with how that empathy inevitably affects their bottom line.
Not only is Conscious Consumerism dire for our society's future, but it guides us closer to a world where we actually attain sustainability. By being more conscious of the products we buy (i.e. how does this business practice; what is this business doing to combat waste; how are these efforts making a difference, if at all), we can inevitably slow the effect of human waste and pollution and cut back our inherent need for consumption and production. It is our societal duty to save everything and everyone we hold so dear.
So how can we change? Well, first, companies that practice within these types of parameters are demonstrating the standard of a 'circular economy', rather than the old standard of a 'linear economy'. According to the EPA...
"A circular economy, as defined in the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act, refers to an economy that uses a systems-focused approach and involves industrial processes and economic activities that are restorative or regenerative by design, enable resources used in such processes and activities to maintain their highest value for as long as possible, and aim for the elimination of waste through the superior design of materials, products and systems (including business models). It is a change to the model in which resources are mined, made into products and then become waste. A circular economy reduces material use, redesigns materials to be less resource intensive, and recaptures 'waste' as a resource to manufacture new materials and products."
A business running its demonstrated values on a circular model will always be transparent about it, so let's do our research and educate ourselves. After all, a true Conscious Consumer is a knowledgeable consumer.
Secondly, we need to make our money matter. Once we are aware of what businesses are doing we can make a difference, change the narrative, and guide Capitalism into the next stage of growth. Finally, the old adage always states 'if you see something, say something.' This applies to corrupt companies just the same, and this gives us an opportunity as individuals to use our social media for good, be a part of a movement by calling out those who are not thinking about our best interests and only their bottom line.
In the end, there are many companies working towards social change: bigger companies that we probably have all heard of, like Prana or Patagonia; and smaller companies we may not be as familiar with, like FEED or Imani Collective. At FLUO, we strive towards 100% sustainability both in our products and our practices and we do it all by being transparent in everything we do. Additionally, FLUO donates 20% of our proceeds directly to our youth mental health nonprofit, the FLUO Foundation where we are devoted to fostering a greater understanding of our youth’s mental health needs through education and inspiration.
It is companies like these that are at the forefront of the movement, changing how business is done so that we as a community can have a brighter, more connected, more hopeful future. Together, we are stronger. Together, we are Team Human (#TeamHuman).
To learn more about the FLUO Foundation practices and programs, or even just to make a donation, please visit our website at https://www.fluofoundation.org
https://bschool.pepperdine.edu/blog/posts/conscious-consumerism.htm
https://www.epa.gov/recyclingstrategy/what-circular-economy