Conscious Consumerism- How your purchases can create a positive impact on our world!

The holidays are upon us and the December calendar is filled with family gatherings, holiday parties and shopping for holiday gifts.

According to the National Retail Federation, the average person will spend around $700 on gift-giving this holiday season and in the US that will equal to more than $465 billion dollars that will be spent on gifts.

Just think about what we can do if that money was used to purchase gifts that actually help our world in some way! 

Defining A Conscious Consumer

A conscious consumer is someone who considers the environmental, social, and political impacts of their purchases. It is a mindful approach in our daily choices for the things we need or desire. 

The Conscious Thought Process

Eco-conscious people try to make conscious decisions to decrease their footprint and reduce the effects of climate change through shifts in the way they live. This is the perfect time of the year to continue that shift by being more conscious about the gifts we purchase in a more eco-conscious and sustainable way. 

When purchasing gifts this holiday season, think about what you are purchasing and how it affects our planet, our people and our animals. 

Is it sustainable? Is the person that made it paid a fair & livable wage? Does the gift Give Back to help an important cause? 

Why It Is Important

As a conscious consumer, you have the power to create positive change in communities throughout the world through your purchases. 

Sustainability matters because it is a holistic approach to reducing our impact environmentally and also to create social, and economic growth around the world. Being a conscious consumer is a huge step we can take to reduce our impact on the earth environmentally and also create a positive impact on all living beings on our planet.

The fundamental basics we have in our society like clean water, electricity, education, and healthcare isn’t readily accessible in developing countries. As consumers, we can break the cycle of poverty in whole communities through the power of purchase. By supporting fair trade, health and education programs, training and job skills development and giving women the opportunity to be equal in the workplace and allowing their kids to go to school we can help break their cycle of poverty. 

Be The Change & Support The Conscious Consumer Movement

This Holiday season while you are sorting out your Christmas list consider donating to a non-profit in someone’s name or making a socially conscious purchase that considers the source, and how it impacts the person that made it or benefits from it or how it helps sustain our planet in some way. Whatever your focus is, turn the gift-giving experience into an opportunity to tell the story behind the gift and how it provides a better opportunity for others. Your friends and family will be proud to receive it will appreciate the way their gift Gives Back.

Start a new gift-giving tradition with your family and friends this holiday season. It is the perfect time to create a new circle of gift-giving with your friends and family that is appreciated not only for its physical appearance but for what it represents: the person who made it, the history of that craft within a community and the sustainable means in which it was made.  Lead by example and the cycle of living and giving consciously will grow!

Shop Consciously This Year and make your Dollars Matter!

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Tara Dodson is the creator of the Living Full Circle Blog and will be our guest blogger each month for Mindful Mondays where she hopes to inspire us to make sustainable choices in our daily lives while at home, traveling, and in the workplace.

She is the mother of three, has an endearing partner, and has traveled internationally since she was a child. She enjoys spending time with her family outside whether it is in the garden, biking to the beach, hiking, or doing a beach cleanup. She serves her local community by working for public service by day, provides sustainability consulting to businesses and organizations on the side with her business, Full Circle Resource Management, LLC, and as co-founder of Keepers of the Coast, she creates coastal educational and sustainability programs. 

As a recent graduate from Southern New Hampshire University with an MBA in Sustainability, her background is embedded in conservation, sustainability, and traveling.  With over 15 years of experience, she hopes that you will join her on this journey of inspiration.

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With each purchase through Give Back Goods you are supporting important causes like clean water, prevention of human trafficking, environmental causes, animal causes and much more. You also support poverty-stricken communities throughout the world through Fair Trade wages & practices. Another very special part of Give Back Goods is that when you make a purchase you are literally participating in a sustainable approach to decreasing our impact to our natural resources like overused land for landfill space, impacts to our forests and pollution of our oceans. 

We appreciate your support in helping us GIVE BACK!