We are connected to girls in the developing world through the purchases we make.

Much of the food we eat and clothes we wear was grown or produced in developing countries. Girls are involved in this process as workers, such as the garment workers we met in Wednesday’s post, To Buy or Not to Buy: Made in Bangladesh.

Did you know? We can influence the lives of girls by making sure we’re being socially conscious consumers. Socially conscious consumers avoid products that are produced in an environment where there are:

  • Poor working conditions
  • Unfair wages
  • Lack of workers’ rights
  • Unfair prices paid for goods by the buyers

A socially conscious consumer makes it a point to buy goods that are ethically produced and traded. Here’s how:

Look at the label: If the item you’re buying has been certified Fairtrade or Organic, you can be confident that they are what they say they are – the process to get certified is rigorous and thorough.

Think before you buy: Often, the price of something gives a good indication of whether it was ethically produced and traded. If the price seems too good to be true, it probably is!

Play favourites: Many businesses have made it their mission to only sell ethical goods. Find out which of your favourite brands are ethical and stick to shopping at those stores. Some online stores, like Ethical Ocean, allow you to choose what’s important to you and search by products that are eco-friendly, fairly traded, animal-friendly, people-friendly and world changing.

Speak up: If a shop or café doesn’t provide ethically traded goods, make sure to let them know that if they carried those products you would buy them. If the owners know that their customers are interested, they’re more likely to carry fairly traded items.

Buy for change: Some brands and retailers donate partial profits to work overseas. Did you know that Plan has an online store with great giveables like Because I am a Girl t-shirts and a Birks pendant designed by Jenn Heil? A portion of the proceeds go to Because I am a Girl programs!

Beware: Just because a store has one or two ethical products doesn’t mean that everything they sell is fairly traded. Most likely if they’re ethically traded, that fact will be advertised!

We believe that girls around the world should be paid fairly for the work they do and should not have to work in exploitative environments.

Do you have any tips on how to be a more socially conscious consumer?