Five ways to be an ethical consumer

Changing the world starts with your everyday actions.

Making environmentally friendly decisions every day can benefit you and future generations.

Eat fresher food, drink ethically-sourced coffee, travel consciously, be mindful about where your clothes come from, and divest your hard earned dollars from companies exploiting local communities — it all adds up to a better world.

1. Buy seasonally and locally

Do your bit for the planet and your health. There’s no simpler way to make an ethical impact than eating fresher food.

Local and seasonal produce requires less energy and water in the growing, transportation and refrigeration processes.

Better yet, try and grow your own fruit and vegetables — it’s a fun D.I.Y. activity, and can significantly reduce the carbon footprint of you and your family. Not realistic? Pop down to your local farmer’s market. By supporting the local community and farmers, you’ll also benefit from the foods best suited to your nutritional needs.

Growing your own vegetables benefits you and the local community © Flickr / Gunnar Magnusson

2. Make your morning cuppa fair trade

Get more out of your coffee than a caffeine hit. Feel good about knowing your morning cuppa isn’t contributing to world poverty.

In a 20 billion dollar industry, the portion of wealth which goes back into the local communities which farm and source the beans is miniscule. Did you know to get your coffee from farm to café many farmers and their families live on poor wages, and have no access to education and health services?

Find the nearest fair trade coffee products near you using Fairtrade Australia’s product search tool. Type in coffee and your location, you may be metres from your new favourite ethical coffee shop!

Alternatively, visit the Amnesty Shop and check out our ethically-sourced goods.

Knowing where your coffee beans are sourced from is essential to ethically consuming © Flickr / Lennon Ying-Dah Wong

3. Travel responsibly

Many tourists forget the ethical implications of their activities when travelling abroad. There are a few simple things you can do to contribute to local communities and reduce your carbon footprint — all without breaking the budget.

International travel is one of the biggest contributors to carbon emissions. Airplanes produce millions of tonnes of CO2 each year, but it’s possible to neutralise your seat emissions through the Virgin Australia Fly Carbon Neutral program.

Flying is unavoidable when travelling abroad, yet it’s possible to offset your carbon emissions © Flickr / Natassya Franca

4. Shop with a conscience

It’s important to know where your clothes are coming from, and if the companies producing the clothes are paying their workers fair wages and protecting the environment.

Make your dollar count and clear your conscience. Download the Shop Ethical! App — a resource for shoppers to make judgments based on how fashion labels respond to issues such as paying an ethical wage, water pollution and building safety.

Many global corporations pay workers unfair wages © Flickr / Ben Geach

5. Divest your hard earned dollars

Many of us invest in banks, universities, superannuation funds and corporations with unethical standards, those which have funds in the fossil fuel industry.

By divesting — basically the opposite of investing — we can take our money from the sources contributing to climate change, and instead, make an impact for a cleaner, greener future.

The 360.org Go Fossil Free campaign works with institutions to move their money from damaging investments in fossil fuels. You can contact your bank today and divest or tell your super fund to take your money out of the coal, oil and gas sector.

Together, with a few small lifestyle changes, we can change the world.

Divest today or encourage the institutions with dodgy investments © Flickr / Light Brigading