You want to make the right choices so your lifestyle matches your ethics. But how do you know what the right thing is all of the time? How can you make the best purchase when you shop, hire a company, buy clothes or even make more charitable donations and get them to the right groups?

Ethical mobile apps are coming to the rescue. For almost any issue you care about, you can probably find an app that will help inform you, guide you and make it easy for you to not just talk the ethical talk, but walk the ethical walk. We’ve partnered with The Humane Eating Project to highlight theirs and five others that are particularly helpful.

Here are 6 ethical apps that work for Android or IOS devices, or both.

1) The Humane Eating Project

This is a “restaurant app for people who care about animals.” It highlights the cruelty that farm animals experience when produced by giant, industrial factory farms.

Among the problems:

√ Hormones and antibiotics are overused so animals will gain weight quickly

√ Too many animals are raised in a too small space, creating a “mosh pit” that is filthy and inhumane

√ Many animals receive no anesthetic when subjected to such painful procedures as beak trimming, castration and tail docking

√ Factory farm animals are often fed unsavory foods.

The free app helps consumers find 20,000 restaurants in three categories: those serving food that’s humanely raised; those serving vegan, vegetarian or veg-friendly options; and those that have made the “watch list (avoid)” because they serve foods the Project considers to be offensive or illegal, like veal, fois gras and sharkfin.

Diners can also search for a restaurant by name, cuisine, location and price, plus get directions and reviews.

Created by the non-profit America for Animals, the app is just one of several state-of-the-art web and mobile projects the organization has launched to promote animal compassion and stop abuse. Works on both Android and IOS devices.

2) PaperKarma 

If you’re tired of junk mail but find that writing “cancel – return to sender” doesn’t work, this free app may be for you. Just take a picture of the mail you don’t want, and tap “unsubscribe.” PaperKarma will instantly submit a request to the company on your behalf. PaperKarma can stop magazines, catalogs, coupon books, credit card offers and other mail. If the company that sent the mail isn’t in PaperKarma’s data base, they say they’ll track it down. Works on both Android and IOS devices.

3) Buycott 

Buycott is a bar code scanning app that helps shoppers in 192 countries boycott companies that are behaving unethically. Crowd-sourced campaigns raise awareness about the issues, then enable consumers to scan barcodes when they shop to learn more about a product’s history and decide whether or not to buy the product. You can also use the app to send the product manufacturer a message about your decision not to buy. Current campaigns support fair trade, encourage consumers to avoid palm oil products, advocate a boycott of chocolate produced by child slaves and are working to stop wildlife slaughter in Africa. Works on both Android and IOS devices.

4) True Food 

Want to avoid GMOs but can’t do it on you’re own because they’re not labeled? The free True Food app can help. It provides information on common genetically modified ingredients and lets you know what brands to look out for wherever you shop. Browse the 16 categories in the shoppers guide, choosing what’s “green” and avoiding what’s “red.” You can even call or email companies in the “red” to tell them you won’t be buying they’re products until they switch to non GMO ingredients. IOS only.

5) Light Bulb Finder

This free app makes it easy to switch from conventional incandescent light bulbs to LEDs and CFLs. It will help you figure out the right bulb to meet your need, then take you to a shopping site where you can make the purchase. Light Bulb Finder also helps you find rebates or incentives in your state to help defray the cost of switching bulbs. Available forAndroid and IOS.

6) Carpooling and Ridesharing 

There are so many apps for sharing a ride and sharing your car that I’m linking to a good source on 15 of them. Uber and Lyft are on the list, of course. But so is Sidecar.com, which connects riders with everyday drivers in their personal vehicle, and Sidecar Deliveries, which delivers both people and packages going along the same route.  There’s also Ridescout,which gives someone information about all available route options: bus, rail, bikeshare, car share, taxi, carpool, walking, biking, driving and parking.

Partner Note: We partner with organizations and companies that meet our stringent criteria in order to provide you expertise and information that will help you meet your greener living goals. Our editorial opinions remain our own. Thanks!

The post These 6 Ethical Apps Make It Easier to Practice What You Preach appeared first on Big Green Purse.

At Big Green Purse, we advocate shifting your spending to the greenest products and services available. That also means buying from companies that make a difference when it comes to protecting our health and the health of the planet.

As part of our Earth Day service, we are partnering with sustainable food innovator Hampton Creek Foods to shine a spotlight on 5 eco-friendly companies you may not know about.

LOLIWARE

This company was formed in response to the huge amount of waste generated by food and beverage packaging. The zero-waste idea is that you can actually eat the party cups the company makes rather than throw them away.

The cups are made of plant-based ingredients, including seaweed, organic sweeteners, and flavors and colors derived from fruits and vegetables.

Although an edible cup may seem too perishable to be useful, LOLIWARE claims each container can hold a beverage for 24 hours without disintegrating. The product, which you can compost if you don’t want to eat, comes in several different flavors, including tart cherry (pictured above), citrus, matcha green tea, and vanilla bean, as well as an unflavored option.

I haven’t tried LOLIWARE yet myself, but have requested samples for review on Big Green Purse. I’ll let you know how I like it.

Salty Girl Seafood

Do you wonder which fish you can eat without totally depleting the species in the wild?

Salty Girl Seafood wants to help you make sustainable choices. The California-based company sells fish that are wild caught in environmentally responsible ways and “traceable,” which means that they can tell you both where the fish came from and how it was caught.

Salty Girl also partners with FishWise.org, an organization that promotes sustainable business practices that will help ocean ecosystems recover.  All the seafood it sells traceable, sometimes down to the vessel that harvested it, by means of a high-tech tracking code attached to each package.

The company sells both frozen and smoked seafood, in packages like “pacific rockfish with garlic fresh veggies” and “black cod with sweet & smoky teriyaki.”

Sungevity

Sungevity is a solar electricity company that leases, installs, and maintains solar panels on the roofs of homes and businesses.

The idea behind leasing solar panels is simple: many people who would love to make the switch to a sun-powered home or office lack the funds needed to purchase and install the equipment in the first place.

With Sungevity’s lease option, building owners can switch to solar and do the earth some good without investing a lot of money at the beginning. The fact that Sungevity maintains its leased equipment makes the process more feasible for many homeowners.

In addition to conserving the earth’s resources by promoting solar energy for daily electricity needs, Sungevity collaborates with many eco-conscious nonprofit organizations. These partnerships help to spread the word about the benefits of solar power, and they help raise funds for the nonprofits involved. Sungevity also works with Powered by Light, a charitable organization that helps off-grid schools in Zambia and other places make use of clean, sustainable sources of energy.

Better World Books

This online bookstore is doing its part to reuse and recycle on a global scale.

In addition to its drive for green business practices, Better World Books is on a social mission to increase literacy worldwide.

The company rescues books that would otherwise be headed for a landfill and either sells them online or donates them through its many partner programs. For every book purchased through its online store, Better World Books donates a book to a literacy-focused nonprofit, such as Books for Africa.

Hampton Creek Foods

Hampton Creek Foods has been breaking ground in the sustainable food market.

What is Hampton Creek It is not a geographical location or a farm stand, as the name might imply. It is a high-tech food company, pioneering research in plant-based alternatives to traditionally animal-based foods.

One of Hampton Creek’s core ideas is that, if the company creates a great-tasting, affordable product, making the switch to sustainable, healthy foods will be the natural choice for the everyday consumer.

Hampton Creek’s Just Mayo product, made without eggs, is one of its most popular products for these reasons. The company also produces various salad dressings, cookies and even cookie dough that’s safe to eat because it doesn’t contain eggs.

Happy Earth Day!

Creating a more sustainable world happens one step at a time, one eco-conscious decision at a time.

The next time you are in need of a specific product or service, come back to biggreenpurse.com, where you can learn more about all kinds of companies that are making green choices as well as giving back to their communities.

And remember, use your purse and pocketbook to make a difference. When you switch your spending to the best products and services available, you protect yourself, your loved ones and the planet – and you help motivate companies to do the right thing!

The post 5 Eco-Friendly Companies You Should Know About appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Sure, you can earn cash back on your credit card or rack up some frequent flier miles.

But do you actually use your miles—or do you find yourself redeeming them for magazines you don’t even read?

And while cash back is nice, it usually doesn’t make a huge difference to how much money you have in the bank.

On the other hand, your credit card rewards could make a big difference to your favorite charity.

√ Groups working to protect the planet are usually non-profits with very limited budgets that don’t begin to match how much they’re trying to get done.

√ Why not earmark your credit card rewards for sustainability-focused programs and initiatives that you’d like to support anyway?

Here are five ways — plus 1 — you can
use your credit card rewards to protect the planet.

1) Donate your cash back rewards to your favorite organization.
Some groups only charge an annual membership fee of $15. That might be the amount of cash back you earn in a month.

⇒Look at your credit card statements for the past 12 months to determine how much cash, on average, you’ve earned per month.

⇒ Set up an automatic bill pay relationship for that amount with your favorite environmental charity.

This is probably the most hassle-free way to donate —and it won’t cost you anything out of your normal budget.

2) Donate your miles.
Many environmental organizations conduct field research, travel to Washington, D.C. to meet with their members of Congress, or bring activists to their state capitals to huddle with legislators and participate in rallies and other events.

When you donate your miles, you’ll save these groups big bucks they might otherwise spend on plane, train and bus tickets.

3) Get a credit card that automatically benefits an environmental group.
⇒ For example, Sierra Club has partnered with One PacificCoast Bank, FSB, a community development bank, so that a percentage of every purchase made using the Club’s Visa Platinum credit card “furthers the Sierra Club’s mission to protect wild and scenic places for future generations.”

⇒ The Nature Conservancy and World Wildlife Fund have both partnered with BankAmericard in a similar arrangement.

4) Earmark your rewards for carbon offsets.
The Sustain:Green credit card, a MasterCard, encourages consumers to offset their carbon “footprint”—how much carbon dioxide their behavior generates—by using their card.

⇒ Sustain:Green reduces a user’s carbon footprint by 2 pounds for every dollar spent. Plus, the company will reduce a customer’s carbon footprint by an additional 5,000 pounds of carbon offsets when the first purchase is made within 90 days.

⇒ Sustain:Green has partnered with the non-profit American Carbon Registry and the Mata No Peito rainforest initiative to achieve its goals. Bonus: The actual card is biodegradable.

5) Redeem your points for a contribution to a charity.
⇒ Automate this if your card or bank allow you to.

⇒ Otherwise, put it on your calendar to do every quarter—if you wait until the end of the year, competition from holiday spending and other expenses might get in the way.

PLUS: Use a credit card set up specifically to donate to non-profits.
⇒ CREDO donates ten cents to nonprofit organizations with every CREDO Visa card purchase. The user earns triple points for grocery store purchases and charitable giving.

The donations can be earmarked for any of the 50 charities CREDO supports, including the League of Conservation Voters, 350.org, the Organic Consumers Association, Black Lives Matter Fund, and Stop the Next War Fund.

The post 5 Ways to Use Your Credit Card Rewards to Protect the Planet appeared first on Big Green Purse.

In a major victory for all of us who believe we have a right to know what is in our food, the Campbell Soup Company has decided to voluntarily disclose the presence of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in its products.

Campbell said it supports federal legislation that would require “all foods and beverages regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to be clearly and simply labeled for GMOs.”

Campbell also supports a national standard for non-GMO claims all food manufacturers display on their packaging.

That means that, here on out, not only Campbell’s Soups but other products in the Campbell’s line, including Pepperidge Farm, Bolthouse Farms, V8, Swanson, Prego and Royal Dansk, will reveal when its ingredients contain GMOS – and when they don’t.

(In case you can’t read the label, right, it says: “Partially produced with genetic engineering. For information about GMO ingredients visit Whatsinmyfood.com.”)

Most food companies vehemently oppose GMO labeling, because they worry that if consumers know genetically modified organisms are in their food, they won’t buy it.

However, 92 percent of Americans support GMO labeling, said Elizabeth O’Connell, director of consumer advocacy for Green America. Campbell’s decision supports “the people’s Right to Know what’s in their food,” she said.

Don’t Miss: The 7 Most Important Reasons to Avoid GMOs

Campbell’s President and CEO Denise Morrison said that the company supports mandatory national labeling of foods that contain GMOS due to consumer demand.

“We are operating with a “Consumer First” mindset. We put the consumer at the center of everything we do.  That’s how we’ve built trust for nearly 150 years.  We have always believed that consumers have the right to know what’s in their food.  GMO has evolved to be a top consumer food issue reaching a critical mass of 92% of consumers in favor of putting it on the label.

In addition, we have declared our intention to set the standard for transparency in the food industry. We have been openly discussing our ingredients, including those derived from GMO crops, through our WhatsinmyFood.com website.  We are supporting digital disclosure through the Grocery Manufacturers Association’s (GMA) SmartLabel program.  We have announced the removal of artificial colors and flavors from our products.  However, our support of mandatory federal GMO labeling sets a new bar for transparency.

Morrison noted that individual consumer campaigns being waged from California to Maine to force companies to label products ultimately forced the company to support a national law.

Without the efforts by groups like Green America, Environmental Working Group, JustLabelIt.org, and of course, Big Green Purse, to mobilize consumers, Campbell’s may not have voluntarily agreed to be so transparent.

If you ever wonder if your individual purchases make a difference, wonder no more. They do! They help protect you and your family first and foremost. But they can also force powerful corporations to do the right thing.

Hooray!

Read Campbell’s complete corporate statement here.

Read the complete statement of Denise Morrison, Campbell’s President & CEO, here.

Top image reprinted with permission of GreenAmerica.org.

The post Campbell’s GMO Labeling Victory Shows the Power of the Purse appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Here are links to 13 of the best eco labels in the market. What makes them so good? They’ve been defined by independent institutions or nonprofit organizations that have set meaningful criteria that companies must prove they’ve met in order to use the ecolabel in question. When you shop, look for these “third party” certifications to back up the claims a company makes regarding the environmental and human health benefits of their products.

NOTE: These ecolabels are among the best you’ll see when you shop. That doesn’t mean they’re perfect. They sometimes allow “wiggle room” for manufacturers, and they don’t take every possible impact into consideration. But don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good! The labels listed below are making things better, and driving manufacturers to reduce pollution, limit or eliminate use of toxic chemicals, and save energy. When we use them, we put the power of our purse to work to create support for strengthening the labels while helping to protect ourselves and our families.

Best Eco Labels

Organic – The U.S. Department of Agriculture collaborated with scientists, consumer groups, environmentalists and the agriculture industry to set standards for the meaning of the word “organic.” Products labeled “100 percent organic” must contain only organically produced ingredients. Products labeled “organic” must consist of at least 95 percent organically produced ingredients. Products meeting either set of requirements may display the USDA Organic seal on their packaging. Processed products that contain at least 70% organic ingredients may use the phrase “made with organic ingredients,” but may not use the organic seal. Processed products that contain less than 70% organic ingredients may not use the term “organic” other than to identify the specific ingredients that are organically produced in the ingredients statement. Overall, when it comes to food, the organic label, while not perfect, is the best indicator that no or minimal toxic pesticides, hormones, and antibiotics were used for growing and processing.

Green Seal – For more than 25 years, this non-profit, science-based organization has developed certification standards to minimize the environmental and health impacts related to cleaning products, coffee, paint, windows, even sticky notes. To earn the Green Seal, a product must meet rigorous evaluation and testing objectives, as must the facility where it is manufactured.

LEED – The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) label represents a green building rating system for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. A program of the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.

Forest Stewardship Council – FSC sets standards to ensure that forests are being managed in an environmentally responsible way, and that products like timber, paper and furniture are made sustainably. Look for it when you buy writing and copy paper, stationery, couches, chairs, dining room sets, flooring, framing timber, packaging and packing materials.

ENERGY STAR – This label, overseen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, indicates homes and buildings, plus appliances, computers lightbulbs, copiers, printers, furnaces and many other products that meet strict energy-efficiency guidelines that help save energy and money and protect the environment.

Veriflora – This label is awarded to flower growers who do not use “extremely hazardous” or “highly hazardous” agrochemicals. The VeriFlora label also indicates that growers are converting to organic and sustainable crop production practices. The standard contains extensive water and ecosystem protection measures to ensure that farmers are not damaging surrounding wildlife or habitats. In addition, it requires growers to provide a fair, equitable, and safe workplace for their farmers.

Fair Trade Certified – This label (either version) demonstrates that the farmers and workers behind Fair Trade goods were paid fair wages and have opportunities for better health care, housing and education. The Fair Trade label is attached to coffee, chocolate, cocoa, tea, fruit, rice, sugar, spices and a variety of clothing and crafts produced in developing countries.

Certified Humane Raised & Handled – This label provides independent verification that the care and handling of livestock and poultry on farms enrolled in the program meet high-quality, humane animal care standards. These include access to clean and sufficient food and water; sufficient protection from inclement weather; and enough space to move about naturally.

Leaping Bunny is the certification program of the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics. The mark certifies that companies have not tested their products on animals during any stage of development. The company’s ingredient suppliers make the same pledge. Look for the Leaping Bunny label on cosmetics and personal care, household, and cleaning products.

Marine Stewardship Council – The Council’s eco-label indicates seafood that comes from fisheries that are striving to manage sustainably. Look for it on fish and shellfish, including fresh seafood sold at the counter, packaged and frozen seafood, and products like canned tuna, salmon, anchovies, sardines, and crab.

Demeter – This label represents the Demeter Farm Standard, which   indicates that a farm is organically farmed, GMO-free and also operated to promote soil fertility, animal welfare, conserve water, protect biodiversity, and managed to follow the cycles of nature. Look for it on wine, tea, juice, pasta, sauces, and many other foods.

NON-GMO Project Verified – This label indicates that products bearing it have been produced according to the best available practices for avoiding genetically-modified organisms (GMOs). It does not promise that a product is “GMO free” because there is always some risk that seeds, crops, ingredients and products have been exposed to GMOs somewhere along their growing or production cycle. It does, however, create a powerful incentive to seed breeders, farmers, processors and manufacturers to adopt practices that reduce use of GMOs while giving consumers a way to limit their exposure.

WaterSense – WaterSense is a label and program created by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It’s designed to help consumers easily identify water-efficient products in the marketplace while ensuring product performance and encouraging manufacturers to create more products that help use water wisely. Look for it on indoor plumbing fixtures like faucets, toilets and shower heads, as well as outdoors in rain sensors, soil moisture sensors, and sprinkler systems.

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The post The 13 Best Eco Labels To Help You Shop Green appeared first on Big Green Purse.

How can the world’s two consumer “superpowers”- the U.S. and China – work together to reduce the impact that consumption has on us and our world?

That was the topic a capacity crowd addressed on March 22 at the U.S. – China Greener Consumption Forum. The event, held at the World Bank in Washington, D.C. and co-sponsored by Big Green Purse and the International Fund for China’s Environment, pulled together scientists, consumer advocates, public policy advocates, and green entrepreneurs to share ideas about strategies to inspire manufacturers to create greener goods — and get consumers to buy them.

HIGHLIGHTS:

The Forum focused primarily on women because women spend 85 cents of every dollar in the  marketplace – and we’re not just buying cheese doodles and diapers. As I say here on CCTV, the national television network of China, we buy more clothes. More food.  More cosmetics and personal care products than men. We also buy more electronics, more home furnishings, almost as many tools, just as many cars. Women are spending billions of dollars, day in and day out, year in and year out.

But even with all that clout, we won’t be able to use this power of the purse effectively until we achieve true gender equity
worldwide, points that both Ban Li, Deputy Counsel of the Shaanxi Women’s Federation, and Liane Shalatek, Associate Director of the Heinrich Boll Foundation North America, made very powerfully.

 Christine Robertson of Earth Day Network facilitated a provocative panel on the impacts consumption has on our health and the health of the planet. Sarah Vogel of Environmental Defense Fund was peppered with questions after her presentation on the way the toxic chemical Bisphenol-A (BPA) affects the reproductive systems of men and women alike.

Ping He of the International Fund for China’s Environment, the co-sponsor with Big Green Purse of the Forum, moderated the session on barriers to sustainable consumption and solutions that help surmount them. Meaningful eco-labels and standards can make a big difference, pointed out Arthur Weissman, President and CEO of Green Seal, especially when those standards are set by an indendent third party (like Green Seal is) whose primary interest is not in selling products, but in helping manufacturers become more sustainable over time.

LISA JACKSON, Former EPA Administrator

 Lisa Jackson’s luncheon keynote address was the highlight of the day for many people. As a mom, scientist, and long-time public servant, Lisa has a unique appreciation for the impact consumption has on us as individuals and on society as a whole. She spoke movingly about being the first African-American to serve as head of the EPA and how important it is to bring women as well as people of color and low-income populations into the conversations we’re having about pollution and climate change.

Lisa noted that her favorite law is the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act because it empowers people to protect themselves wherever they live. She is also proud of technology EPA has shared with the city of Shanghai to help monitor air pollution there.

Lisa agreed that the way we use both the purse and the pocketbook can inspire manufacturers to reduce pollution and energy consumption.

AFTERNOON WORKSHOPS

In the afternoon, one set of workshops focused on specific campaigns that have been particularly succeessful in reducing consumption. Peggy Neu explained the extraordinary success Meatless Monday has had in inspiring consumers to cut back the amount of meat they eat at least one day every week. Mary Murphy of the Center for a New American Dream explained her work to promote a sharing economy. “The biggest obstacle to sharing is trust,” she said. The more we can build communities of trust, the more sharing will occur.

Meanwhile, Julia Cohen of the Plastic Pollution Coalition moderated a provocative session on how to reduce plastic and re-utilize waste. Stephanie Tobor of Green Apple Supply described her work providing plastic-free alternatives to municipalities and businesses, and Kate Judson of the Washington DC Department of the Environment explained how the region’s plastic bag fee of five cents per bag has helped reduce the use of plastic bags by over 60%. Youlin Zhou of the Heilongjian Province Center for Agricultural Science and Technology describe her work to convert corn waste into animal feed.

At the same time, a third workshop was focusing on strategies to promote energy efficiency and clean energy. Moderated by Nora Maccoby of IFCE, the panel featured Peter Banwell, Product Marketing Director for ENERGY STAR, Gina Mathias of Eco-Beco, a company that offers energy audits for homes and businesses, and Hua Yan, of the Qinghe Spring Biomass Energy Company.

After a short break, a final set of workshops addressed home renovation, food and drink, and cosmetics and personal care products. While the earlier workshops focused on public education campaigns and behavior change, these workshops gave green entrepreneurs a chance to shine. They included Cheryl Newman, the VP for Honest Tea, describing how her company has gone from a dorm-room idea to a product distributed in over 300,000 outlets in the U.S., to Charis Smith of MOMs Organic Market, which sells only organic produce, and to Paul Ward, whose company Advanced Energy Growing, LLC is teaching hydroponic lettuce growing to both American and Chinese farmers. On the cosmetics front, Ashley Prange of Au Naturale Organic Cosmetics and Sarah Damelio of Skincando Body Products took the audience through the trials and tribulations of getting a new natural product off the ground, while Steve Ma, founder of Live Green, offered his insights on building a green consumer movement in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.

WRAP-UP

In the final plenary session of the day, Forum attendees took the microphone to offer their suggestions for possible next steps. Ideas ranged from creating a dialogue on Facebook to promoting more information and expertise exchanges. The focus was not on “if” there would be another Forum, but “when” and where. In the days ahead, we’ll be brainstorming ideas for the next steps we could take to help the U.S. and China go from consumer superpower to sustainability superpower. Have any thoughts? Please let us know.

SEE MORE ON TWITTER

If you want to see more play-by-play reports of the Forum, follow our Twitter stream at #USChinaGreenForum.

GREEN SISTERHOOD NETWORK

The Green Sisterhood Network was the Forum’s outstanding media partner, generating blog posts in the network and covering the Forum live (Anna Hackman, a co-founder with Karen Lee of the Network, is seen here taking notes and Tweeting live at the Forum).

You can read Karen’s recap here and a post on the Green Sisterhood Network here.

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The post US-China Greener Consumption Forum Lays Groundwork for Future Projects Together appeared first on Big Green Purse.

 The U.S. – China Greener Consumption Forum will mark the first-ever gathering of women leaders from the world’s two “consumer super powers” to meet and address the environmental challenges their countries face due to consumption. The Forum, to be held March 22, 2013 at the World Bank in Washington, D.C., will convene leading consumer advocates, green entrepreneurs, scientists and public policy specialists to explore ways to marshal the “power of the purse” to protect the planet.

 Consumer demand is leading to the most rapid use of natural resources, energy, and water that the world has ever seen. The consequences for pollution, impact on climate change, exposure to toxic substances, and waste are equally significant.

This is particularly true in the U.S. and China. In the U.S., women influence at least 80% of all consumer purchases. In China, women contribute about half of all household income and influence and make more than half of all purchasing decisions. If women in both countries can be mobilized to use their power as consumers and as entrepreneurs alike, significant progress can be made in reducing our global carbon footprint while creating a greener, cleaner world.

The Forum will deliver a series of “A Ha!” moments as speakers who are expert in the impacts of consumption on the environment and human health:

·      highlight the need to include gender equity in sustainability strategies

·      review innovative campaigns that achieved significant changes in consumer behavior, including those that have helped reduce consumption

·      showcase companies that have successfully launched new green products in response to consumer demand, and

·      explore opportunities for women to emerge as the entrepreneurial engine behind the global green economy.

REGISTRATION LIMITED; REGISTER TODAY

Registration is free, but limited to only 100 attendees. Please register as soon as possible to secure your place at this important event.

SPONSORS

The International Fund for China’s Environment, Big Green Purse, The Green China Consumption Alliance

SUPPORTING PARTNERS

The Heinrich Boell Foundation North America, UN Women, Chinese Staff Association (World Bank/IMF/IADB), Earth Day Network, Worldwatch Institute, Green America, Plastic Pollution Coalition, All China Women’s Federation, EcoMom Alliance, LOHAS Institute, Greennovate, Ashoka, Chinese Women Activity Center, Helongjiang Women Entrepreneurs Association, Yichun City, Green Seal, DC Eco Women,

MEDIA PARTNERS

Ethical Markets Media

Green Sisterhood Network

Sustainable Brands

For more information or to become a supporting partner, please contact Diane MacEachern at Diane@biggreenpurse.com, 240-533-6384 or YaoChong@ifce.org, 202-822-2141.

The post U.S. – China Greener Consumption Forum to Focus on Consumer “Super Powers” and Strategies to Use Consumer Clout to Protect the Environment appeared first on Big Green Purse.

On the pocket book side, according to this nifty info graphic from elocal.com, “if the people of an average American
city were to shift just 10% of their spending from chains to local businesses, it
would bring an additional $235 million per year to the community’s economy.” How? By keeping profits at home rather than sending them abroad. Plus, favoring local stores keeps neighborhoods vibrant. I see this in my own town, where our mainstreet bustles with boutique shops that offer one-of-a-kind treasures, the post office and hardware store provide the basics, and the restaurants support shoppers and shop keepers alike. If we didn’t have local stores, our downtown would be a dead end: bleak, dreary, and drab.

On the environmental side, it turns out that buying products made locally helps reduce the climate change impact associated with shipping goods made in China or India half way around the world. We’ve gotten used to the idea of buying food produced locally – it tastes better, is fresher, and is often treated with fewer chemicals and preservatives because it goes from farm to farmers market to table in short order. Buying locally made clothes, crafts, and housewares may have the same benefits: better quality, more unique characteristics, and plus, it’s fun to know who made the items you buy.

Wondering where you can find items on your shopping list that are sold by local stores or made locally? Plug your zip code into this cool “finder” at American Express, grab your reusable shopping bags, and go!

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Why? Because ensuring that women have full reproductive rights creates one of the most desirable “two-fers” on the planet. Complete access to voluntary family planning is among the quickest, simplest, and most affordable ways to improve women’s quality of life. It is also one of the most direct, immediate and cost-effective ways to reduce climate change. In fact, studies show that slowing population growth by giving women access to the contraception they already want could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by between 8 and 15 percent [PDF] — roughly equivalent to ending all tropical deforestation.

Women took these issues to Rio because more than 200 million women in the U.S. and around the world cannot choose whether or when to have a baby, simply because they don’t have access to voluntary family planning. Groups like the Global Fund for Women and International Planned Parenthood Federation spent several days last week making their case, button-holing delegates, meeting with celebrities, blogging and Tweeting, and protesting in the streets.

In the end, as Grist reported, the Rio+20 outcome document – though 49 pages long and consisting of 23,917 words – mentions women in less than 0.01 percent of the entire text. And only two of the 283 sections addressed women’s needs for family planning. Of the seven priority areas of discussion at the summit, none included language endorsing the idea that access to contraception is a basic human right. In fact, language to that effect was specifically removed from earlier drafts of Earth Summit recommendations, primarily at the insistence of the Vatican, which interprets endorsement of reproductive “rights” as endorsement of abortion.

This did not sit well with Hillary Rodham Clinton, the U.S. Secretary of State who led America’s official summit delegation. “Women must be empowered to make decisions on whether and when to have children” if the world is to attain agreed-upon sustainable development goals,”  she said.

Peggy Clark, the executive vice president for policy programs at the Aspen Institute, concurred. “Removing references to reproductive health from the outcome document was “an unacceptable step backward that erases decades of global commitments,” she said. “The ability to choose the number, spacing and timing of children is not a luxury. It is a basic human right, one that has already been affirmed by the world community at the Cairo and Beijing conferences.”

Dr. Carmen Barroso, Regional Director of the International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Division, pointed out that there is “no recognition [in the outcome document] of the intersection between population dynamics, reproductive health and rights and sustainable development.”

“Overall, it was disheartening to say the least to see the lack of recognition of women’s sexual and reproductive rights and the critical role women’s equality plays in ensuring sustainable development,” she said. “It bears repeating time and time again that as long as women don’t have sustainable lives, there will not be, and cannot be, global sustainability.”

Nevertheless, activists who left Rio seem more determined than ever to secure reproductive rights for all women and to draw a bright line between voluntary contraception and sustainability.

“We will keep organizing well beyond the confines of this conference. There are tens of thousands of us! Collectively we can make a lot of noise, change minds and policy. It’s kind of like our version of “occupy.” We’re going to occupy Rio beyond 20,” declared Musimbi Kanyoro, CEO and President of the Global Fund for Women.

RELATED POSTS:

Earth Summit Delegates Refuse to Recognize Women’s Reproductive Rights

At Rio+20, Women Focus on Reproductive Rights and Sustainability

Why Climate Change Matters to Women

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But how many “resolutions” have you made over the years? And – be honest, now – how many have you actually kept?

The truth is,resolutions are as easy to abandon as they are to embrace. Yes, they’re noble. They may even be inspiring. But do they usually work?

No. They’re just too vague, too lofty; they leave too much wiggle room. And if there’s anything the planet doesn’t need more of, it’s wiggle room!

That’s why, rather than make resolutions this year, I hope you’ll consider setting a specific goal. Something not just to aim for, but to surpass. A benchmark. A way you can prove to yourself that you’re actually DOING something. Making a difference.

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know that I’d like that goal to be about how you spend your money. In fact, I’d like to encourage you to set a specific goal of shifting at least $1,000 of your normal household budget to the greenest products and services available: no-VOC paints, BPA-free bottles, energy-efficient cars or mass transit, organic food. You get the idea. The “green” version of what you buy anyway.

Why does it matter?

When we pay for goods, manufacturers pay attention to us. They have to. Consumer dollars are their lifeblood. So rather than fall prey to companies and the millions of dollars they spend to tell us what to buy, we can use our own dollars to tell them what to make – and how to make it.  The more money you shift to to greener options, the more you direct manufacturers to reduce pollution, save energy and water, use less packaging, limit toxic substances, curb climate change, and protect natural areas.
Plus, our economic system is based on supply and demand. If you want the supply of greener goods to increase, your demand for them has to increase as well.

But there’s perhaps an even more important reason to shift your spending. The way you spend your money is your first line of defense. It’s the fastest, easiest way to guard both your pocketbook and your health. Not nearly enough laws and regulations are in place to protect us from the 80,000 or more chemicals circulating in our environment. The U.S. Congress still hasn’t been able to regulate the carbon dioxide emissions that cause climate change, even though 2010 may turn out to be the warmest year on record. Most food is still grown by big conglomerates that liberally douse their fields in pesticides and herbicides.

We can reduce our exposure to toxins significantly by buying the safest products available.  We can save money by opting for more fuel efficient appliances and modes of transportation and reduce our carbon impact at the same time. We can keep our communities strong and thriving by buying food grown, not just organically, but locally.

So set a goal. You won’t be alone. Already, 6,000 people have started to make the shift, as part of the Big Green Purse One in a Million Campaign. If we get to a million (that’s OUR goal!), we can have a noticeable ONE BILLION DOLLAR IMPACT in the marketplace.

Want to get started?

You can make the biggest difference by picking one commodity and shifting all $1,000 to it. Some of the most important options (and ones that should be readily available in your neighborhood as well as on-line) include:

____ Organic, locally grown food (Why? Reduce your exposure to pesticides.)
____ Energy-efficient appliances (Why? Help stop global warming.)
____ Phthalate-free cosmetics (Why? Protect your health.)
____ Fuel-efficient car or a really great bicycle (Why? Save energy, save money, reduce air pollution.)
____ Fair trade, shade grown coffee (Why? Protect rainforests and songbirds.)
____ Non-toxic cleansers (Why? Reduce indoor air pollution and limit your exposure to toxic chemicals.)

Alternatively, you can spread your spending among the variety of products and services that you need to manage your household, choosing as often as possible those that offer the greatest environmental benefits. You’ll probably find that you’ll end up shifting far more than the initial $1,000 you aim for. In fact, that’s the idea. You set a goal. It becomes a habit. And the more money you shift, the bigger impact you’ll have. Talk about getting the biggest bang for your buck!

Note: I’m not encouraging you to buy more stuff you don’t need just because it’s “green.” And there’s no question that we need to continue to pass and enforce strong laws to protect our health and the environment. But it would be irresponsible not to use the most powerful tool available to us individually – our purse or our pocketbook  — to make the world a better place.

So, set your goal. First, join the Big Green Purse One in a Million Campaign. Read how people like you have reached their goals. Then use this free balance sheet to get started yourself. When you reach your goal, let me know so I can brag about you.

And remember: It’s not how much you spend, it’s how you spend it.

Happy New Year!

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