Sunday, November 02, 2008

this deserves an essay

But I'm not going to write an essay. Even though it would be more moving than this blathering...

After watching The High Price of Low Cost this weekend, I got another big cosmic push to be seriously mindful of how I spend money.

I always knew something must be wrong for the things I buy to be so cheap.
But it took THREE movies to finally coerce me to change my behavior:

Movie #1. What Would Jesus Buy

Movie #2. Call + Response

Movie #3 The High Price of Low Cost

When I put them all together, along with Advent Conspiracy and Relevant Magazine's latest cover story, I have no other choice but to stop buying things simply because they cost less.
I can no longer plead ignorance.

Perhaps I saved 20 bucks on a pair of shoes, but those were made a woman somewhere, who has a name and a life, and wants to go to school and wants to make enough to feed her kids and if she gets sick, she deserves medical care.
That means, I have to buy less stuff and buy it more carefully.
And I know I'm part of a tiny tiny group of people that are thinking this way and buying this way. I know that it's going to take millions of people to boycott to make giant evil corporations change the way they operate. But I'm blessed enough to have options, and I believe God wants me to do everything in love. That includes shopping.

Thankfully I found this list, and some of my favorite companies are on it, like Trader Joe's, Old Navy(Gap), and IKEA.

Target is not on the list....sigh...

...sigh...

Must stay strong. Must stay strong.



I'm gonna cruise around here for a while...

5 comments:

Sam said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sam said...

Hey, if I didn't believe just a tiny segment of the population could change big bad corporations, I wouldn't hand out those seafood watch cards like a mad woman. Keep up the good work, you do matter and you do make a difference!

PS: Target IS on that list...along with PepsiCo...so pepsi and taco bell are still A-OK! :)

My Mid-Afternoon Daydream said...

Well, if you want to crack open that can of worms then it's important to consider more than just the obvious humanitarian considerations. Think about what these companies do to compete in industry & how that affects our own health and environment. McDonald's may be on the list but they still spray TBHQ on their nuggets and on the inside of food containers. Is it ethical to coat food in carcinogens and then market it to children? I will say that from what I know Stonyfield Farm is a great example of a company that not only does good by people but also by the land. There's just always more to it than what first appears. Sadly, most people probably just get overwhelmed and decide to do nothing - or soothe themselves with some nuggets.

Sorry for the rant...touchy touchy subject!

Charlie said...

Devon, I totally agree.
(And I still think McDonalds is the Devil, no matter what they say)


I'm going to try to make -better- choices, for a little while until I can handle making the -best- choices. If that makes sense?

I was surprised StoneyField wasn't all the way at the top of the list.

M.K.A.E.W. said...

Not really post related, just to McDonald's - have you seen "Supersize Me"? Yeah, McDonald's will kill you.