What it means to be a Conscious Consumer

One of the most important things to consider when making a purchase is where your money is going. We are all conscious consumers, and it's time to take that into account when we buy. Have you ever wondered how many people were involved in making your new shoes? How about the number of steps taken from raw materials to production? Or what happens to those lovely clothes after they're no longer fashionable or desirable? In this post, I'll be answering these questions and more so you can make educated decisions on what you buy next.

Being a Conscious Consumer is a term that is being talked about quite a lot these days, which is a great thing in itself, but do you know exactly what it means? Let’s look at defining the term broadly: 

A conscious consumer is someone who takes into account the public consequences of their private consumption, and who attempts to use their purchasing power to bring about social change.

In an environmental sense, a conscious consumer is an agent of change, who considers the social, emotional, ecological and political implications of their purchasing.

As consumers become more mindful in what we buy, we seek to combat the negative effects that consumerism is having on the world. 

We are becoming more aware of the impact that our waste is having across the globe.

Whether it’s by shopping cruelty-free, plastic-free, or even fair trade, consumers now are faced with a choice, and can now choose to shop with our planet in mind reflecting our own ethics at the checkout! 

With conscious consumerism becoming a trending issue globally, we are becoming more and more educated and aware of the effects chemicals, single-use plastic and non-biodegradable products are having on our life.

If you would like to be more mindful in your daily habits and would like to join the millions of people who are embracing conscious consumerism, to make a difference, I’ve compiled a simple list of 4 things you can do today that are easy to implement but have a huge impact:

Go Natural:

Its time to ditch the nasty chemicals in your home, and your beauty routine.  Choose to make a stand, and buy only natural cleaning products, from plant-derived ingredients, these natural cleaners are just as powerful as their chemical-laden counterparts.  You’ll notice a difference to your home straight away, and you’ll be helping to stop the stream of chemicals going into our waterways!

Plant-based beauty products are definitely kinder on your skin and the planet!  Look for products that aren’t tested on animals, and contain no chemicals.  This is a great way to start to live toxin-free!

The research around chemical-laden deodorant is well known, with links to serious illness caused by aluminium, which is a common ingredient in some commercial deodorants.  The benefits for switching to natural deodorants are many – plus they actually work!

Choose Products That are Environmentally Friendly:

By replacing single-use plastics for reusable alternatives, you can save on a ton of landfill.  Luckily, there are some great choices on the market, everything from reusable straws to face wipes, products that can be kept and reused make sense, not just saving plastic, but they save you money!

The adage ‘ Refuse, Reuse, Recycle’ is the best way to apply this to your shopping choices.

Anything that can be composted is always going to be the best choice when considering the environment in your shopping habits. Biodegradable bin liners are good, compostable bin liners are better!

Making switches as you go is the best advice, so when you run out of your conventional shampoo, that’s the time to replace it with a shampoo bar, long-lasting, no plastic, no nasties, there are some great shampoo alternatives to try.  The trick is finding the right one for you, and to stick at it, there is a transition period, where your hair is detoxing, but I guarantee you, you won’t be rushing for the big plastic bottle once you’ve made shampoo bars part of your routine!

The environmental impact of our everyday routines can go under the radar a bit.  For example when you go grocery shopping, and you automatically grab the single-use plastic produce bags, thinking “it’s only one bag” but times that by thousands of shoppers thinking the same thing, and you can see it has a massive impact.  I find the best way to remember produce bags, is to keep them inside my reusable shopper bags, that way they are always there when I need them!

If you aren’t sure about a brands environmental ethos, you can google and find out, whether its fast fashion, fair trade, or environmental, a little research will always help you to make a more informed choice.  Establish for your self whether a company or product shares the same ethics and ethos that you do.  Fairtrade is always the best choice, and most companies clearly state this!

Look at the Packaging:

We are running out of solutions for landfill and general waste, creating more than we can handle! When buying items always check how the product is packaged. Just by making simple choices around packaging, we can save on the amount of waste leaving our households.  Always try and go for cardboard packaging and try to choose items that aren’t contained in plastic.

Choosing a zero plastic alternative is always a better solution.  Think dish soap bars instead of liquid soap, shampoo bars, deodorant in cardboard tubes, or a tin, unsponges (no microplastic) etc.

TIP: A dish soap bar has a multitude of uses, I use mine for cleaning my sink and benchtops, as well as for washing the chemicals off apples!  They work well with HUMM eco ‘Scrubby’ range – for a zero plastic kitchen solution!

Take it day by day:

It’s not always easy being an ethical, conscious consumer! It can be daunting and can feel overwhelming at times, we are faced with so many choices, drowning in fast fashion, plastic items and chemical-laden products!  But don’t let that break your resolve, all your efforts will count, big or small, just take it day by day and do what you can.  Before you know it will be second nature and you will notice a difference to the way you shop and the way you feel!

At HUMM eco we only sell ethical brands, all our products are made with natural ingredients, are not tested on animals, contain no animal products and use fair trade, ethical processes.  We read all the labels and provide detailed information in our product descriptions to help you make the best-informed choices.