Feeling Overwhelmed about Conscious Consumerism? You’re Not Alone

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Conscious consumerism is a hot topic lately, and while most of us can agree that it’s important, it’s also incredibly overwhelming. So I want to share my journey so you feel a little less alone and a little more equipped to live consciously.

My Journey

Awareness

When I was in college studying nutrition and dietetics, I learned about labels, buzzwords, and even color schemes that marketers use to dupe buyers into believing their products are healthier or superior to other brands. This made me realize that, in order to become a conscious consumer, I needed to do a little more research before I purchased something because the label is not always telling the truth. 
 
grocery store
 
I also became aware of how much slavery and inhumane working conditions existed in the supply chains of our clothing and other products, like household goods and food. Fairtrade items were hard to come by due to the expense and lack of awareness (and therefore demand) at that point in time, but I wanted so desperately for this to change. So I committed to raising awareness and buying better products as much as a poor college student could.

When It Hit Home

A couple of years later, after enduring multiple major surgeries that threatened my fertility, I began to question even more. At 22, I should have never been on the operating table for the reasons that put me there, and I realized that the most likely culprit were some terrible side effects from medications that I had taken a few years prior. That’s when I began to cautiously step into a more holistic lifestyle, trying to find natural solutions before choosing conventional ones. 
 
Flash forward to becoming a mother for the first time. I wanted to be even more careful about the products I used and the food I bought for my family. This is when so many of us start to ask more questions. We want the best for our children, so we do more research and learn to read ingredient labels. In this season of life, I learned about the importance of safe ingredients in our personal care products, like lotions and cosmetics. I slowly started switching to safer items, DIY’ing what I could to cut costs, and investing more in brands that I trusted.
 
child reaching for strawberry
 
A couple years later, one of my children encountered some strange symptoms. After months of tests and failing to figure out the cause, we went to a functional medicine doctor who quickly figured out what was going on. Within a week of dietary changes and a few supplements, the symptoms disappeared. This affirmed my decision to continue to take a holistic approach to health and to continue asking questions before making decisions about what we would put in and on our bodies.
 
All of these experiences culminated in my passion for conscious consumerism. But it left me feeling overwhelmed and alone.

Now What?

Overwhelmed

Whatever reasons started you on this journey, we are all trying to do the best we can. But one common thread most people feel is how overwhelming living consciously can be. I haven’t even mentioned sustainability and the environmental impact of our products, food and plastic use. There is just so much information, so many options, so many things we can do better! Not to mention all of the fear-mongering, criticism, misinformation, and “judgy” people.
 
reusable bag
 
It seems overwhelming to be conscious about EVERYTHING and so if we can’t do it all we freeze and do nothing. Or if we are compelled to do something, even it if is only a little, we worry that people might think we’re hypocritical for not doing more. And unfortunately, this DOES happen.

Better Together

But the reality is that no-one can live 100% perfectly conscious lives. We all have different priorities, budgets, and capacities. We also have relationships with people who may not value this like we do which will require humility and compromise. When we don’t allow the overwhelming amount of information and fear of judgment to stop us, we have the opportunity to walk this journey with some pretty amazing like-minded people.
 
I believe that we are stronger together, which was one of my main reasons for creating an online community for like-minded people to support and encourage each other in our journey to be more conscious.
 
My guiding principles are:
  • Make choices based in wisdom NOT fear.
  • Small changes make a huge difference.
  • Strive for balance, not perfection.
  • Vote with your dollars.
  • We’re stronger together.
  • Your choices are your own, don’t judge others and don’t try to do it like everyone else.
friends
 
Having this community has been such an unexpected blessing for the past two years. I have met so many new people, have learned so much from them, and have been able to help them feel equipped to choose safer products. Doing this with others is so much better than going it alone.

Where to Begin

If you’re just getting started on your journey, I highly suggest that you start small. Choose one thing that concerns you the most and learn more about it. From there, choose one product or food to swap out the next time you have to buy it. Then find some other people to do it with you! If you don’t know anyone that is trying to live more consciously, talk about it, it all starts with awareness. If a community is hard to come by, you’re welcome to join mine.
 
cosmetics
 
Some of the following helpful resources are what got me started. The Think Dirty, EWG, and GoodGuide apps rate each product’s toxicity, allergen, sustainability, etc. level on a scale of 0-10. Start by scanning your bathroom and choose the product with the worst score to switch out first. If the product you scan isn’t listed on one of those apps, turn the bottle over and look for these ingredients to avoid.
 
If you want to find out more about ethical products and what’s going on in supply chains, I highly recommend checking out Slavery Footprint and filling out the survey.
 
When it comes to ethical fashion, I love the Good on You app. You can also check out this helpful directory.
 
DoneGood is an amazing resource I just discovered. You can search for brands that fit the category you are most passionate about. From cruelty-free to women/person of color-owned to eco-friendly and toxin-free, they’ve got so many amazing brands that care about what you care about.
 
I want to hear from you, what is the most important aspect of conscious consumerism to you? What do you want to learn more about?