Blog #10

Sustainable consumerism to me is being able to have a competitive marketplace like we already have in place, but making sure that we are able to keep it ecologically friendly and making sure that it can be sustained for not only this generation, but for future generations. I personally believe that globalization and capitalism are at odds against all forms of sustainability. It doesn't take a PhD to see that big business is a big part of the environmental problems we find ourselves in today. Greenwashing is a term used by big business to promote a product as "green", even if it really is not a green product. This is terrible in my opinion and totally undermines consumer confidence in a company. Despite this fact, many companies still use this today. As I said in a previous blog, I am willing to pay a little more for organic foods, however I'm not so willing to pay extra for "fair trade" because I highly doubt that they are any "fairer" than normal trade items. In all honesty, I probably would prefer  big chain stores to mom and pop places just because they are often cheaper and more accessible than smaller places. My time is valuable and if I can go to a stop that is a "one stop shop", I'd rather do that. I guess the greatest example of a social trap that I succumb to often is that of visiting walmart. I personally hate the store and know that it is terrible, both in a social justice and ecological sense, but I go often because they are cheap and nearby.