Climate Action Week: Mindful Consumption

What is Mindful Consumption? 

Mindful consumption is the practice of using awareness of sustainability issues to inform your purchasing decisions.  Applying mindful consumption to your life choices can lead to a reduction in waste, pollution, and GHG emissions. Being a mindful consumer can also help you identify and avoid products that were produced using unfair labour practices or with materials that have a high environmental impact. 

How do I apply mindful consumption to my lifestyle? 

At the heart of mindful consumption is asking yourself the question “do I really need this?” before purchasing a product.  You might find that you are making many purchases you want but don’t really need.  When you do identify a product that you need then consider some sustainable choices first: can you buy reused, refurbished, or shared items?  What is the durability of the items available and how will they be disposed of?  What are the environmental impacts of the materials used in production? (eg. bamboo vs. plastic) Where was the product made and under what conditions? 

What are some everyday items I can buy or use sustainably? 

What is ‘Greenwashing’ and how can I recognize it? 

Greenwashing is a term referring to companies who promote false or misleading information about the sustainability of their products or services.   Companies that greenwash tend to spend more money portraying themselves as being environmentally friendly rather than actually changing their business practice to be more environmentally friendly.  Greenwashing makes mindful consumption more difficult but there are strategies you can use to identify the companies trying to fool you:

1. Look for proof. Companies make a lot of claims, but how many of them are actually true? As a consumer, you should always be able to verify a company’s environmental claims, especially ones without scientific evidence. Check their website! 
2. Recognize vagueness. A product can be described as “recycled”, “green”, “natural”, and so on. These are all terms that do not mean anything, since they do not specify what they are referring to. What is the definition of “green”? And which parts of a certain item were actually recycled? If this is not explicitly stated, you are probably dealing with greenwashing.  
3. Distinguish relevant from irrelevant information. Not every claim made by a company is necessarily false. However, they might not be of any significance in terms of their environmental impact. For example, a paper company stating that they use “all natural materials” is irrelevant, since all paper companies do.  
4. Look for the truth. Some environmental claims are not only difficult to verify, but also completely false. When a company’s website claims to respect certain official standards or to possess specific environmental certifications, this does not necessarily mean that they actually do.  
5. Check for hyperbole. Overstatements and suggestive imagery are extremely common on a company’s website and in their advertisement campaigns. These might not represent false information per se, but the risk is to exaggerate the benefits provided. For instance, stating that “our furniture is now made with 50% more recycled materials” might just mean that the company only increased the amount from 2% to 3% of the total piece of furniture.  

Some instances of greenwashing are harder to spot, but hopefully if you follow these simple strategies to recognize greenwashing, you will be able to avoid being tricked. 

References

Ofei, M. (2024, Sept. 27).  Mindful consumption: a 6-step guide to consuming better. https://theminimalistvegan.com/mindful-consumption/

UBC Sustainability Hub. (2024). Mindful consumption guide. https://sustain.ubc.ca/resources/mindful-consumption-guide