{"id":5040,"date":"2013-12-09T22:06:12","date_gmt":"2013-12-09T22:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/lothianloop\/?p=645"},"modified":"2013-12-09T22:06:12","modified_gmt":"2013-12-09T22:06:12","slug":"a-flowery-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lothianloop.com\/?p=5040","title":{"rendered":"A Flowery Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"

What exactly is “ethical consumerism”?<\/strong><\/p>\n

At it’s simplest, it’s shopping with a conscience.\u00a0 In reality it’s making purchases (or abstaining from making purchases) in accordance with your personal values – in other words, putting your money wear your mouth is.<\/p>\n

Think “F.L.O.W.E.R.Y”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fairtrade<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since 2011, East Lothian has been a Fairtrade County<\/a>.\u00a0 Fairtrade products are available in all supermarkets nowadays – look for the Fairtrade label.\u00a0 For a wider choice of gifts and homewares, look in speciality shops such as Earth Matters<\/a> in North Berwick or The Small World<\/a> in Prestonpans.<\/p>\n

Local<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Internet “bargain” won’t seem such a great deal when your local shop has closed down – and do you really<\/em> want to support huge organisations that don’t pay their taxes and treat their workers dreadfully.\u00a0 Support your local community by shopping locally and if they don’t have what you are looking for, tell them!<\/p>\n

East Lothian Council are running a Christmas Shop Local campaign<\/a> in conjunction with over 100 local retailers<\/a>.\u00a0 Shoppers have a chance to win a share of a \u00a31500 prize fund.<\/p>\n

Enterprising independent retailers in North Berwick launched a High Street Gift Voucher scheme (available to buy year-round from etc..<\/em> 62 High Street, and are redeemable in the majority of shops along the North Berwick High Street)<\/p>\n

No local bookshop? No problem!\u00a0 Hive<\/a> is a network of independent bookshops.\u00a0 Delivery is free (either to your home or collect from a bookstore of your choice).<\/p>\n

Organic<\/strong><\/p>\n

Organic food is defined as food which is produced using environmentally and animal friendly farming methods on organic farms (i.e. where no pesticides are ever used).<\/p>\n

East Lothian is a farming county as we are blessed with several outlets selling organic products.\u00a0 Take a look at the East Lothian Food & Drink Directory<\/a> for your nearest retailer and look out for the Soil Association logo<\/a> which guarantees a product is organic.<\/p>\n

Organic farms are wonderful for wildlife as the pesticide-free environment provides homes for bees, birds and butterflies.\u00a0 If you love all creatures<\/em>, great and small, you will want to ensure that your toiletries and cosmetics have not been tested on animals so look out for the Leaping Bunny logo<\/a> – it is the only way to be certain that a product is cruelty-free.<\/p>\n

Where…
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

…did it come from?<\/p>\n

The more steps there are between a producer (whether that’s a farmer or a jewellery maker) and the consumer (that’s you!) the more likelihood there is that someone (possibly even a child) has been exploited.<\/p>\n

Handcrafted items have no place in a pound shop!<\/em><\/p>\n

And remember…the longer the supply chain, the larger the carbon footprint so the planet suffers too.<\/p>\n

If in doubt, give it a wide berth.<\/em><\/p>\n

Environmentally-Friendly<\/strong><\/p>\n

It doesn’t take a genius to work out that a plastic toy made in China isn’t good for the environment but what about wooden gifts?\u00a0 When buying wooden toys, look for the FSC mark<\/a> which shows that it meets Forest Stewardship Council standards governing responsible stewardship of the worlds forests.<\/p>\n

Do you really need to buy gift wrap? Use what you already have: newspapers, maps, posters or even a scarf or piece of fabric and tie with a ribbon!<\/p>\n

Recycled, Regifted, Reused<\/strong><\/p>\n

Have a trawl around charity shops (Changeworks have produced this excellent charity shop map<\/a>) for some new or nearly new bargains.<\/p>\n

For that special vintage item, Sam Burns Yard, Prestonpans, takes some beating.<\/p>\n

Or why not re-gift something you already have but don’t need or use?<\/p>\n

YOU!<\/strong><\/p>\n

You<\/em> have opinions, you<\/em> have values, you<\/em> have favourite causes.\u00a0 This is a chance to support all the organisations that you love, have an affiliation to, admire and would be sad if they weren’t there.<\/p>\n

Many charities have online shops selling everything from wristbands to gift memberships.<\/p>\n

Local enterprises often have gift vouchers (or even shares<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Increasingly, charities are turning to “virtual gifts” as a way of fundraising.\u00a0 In Oxfam you can “purchase” a goat, chickens or even a toilet!<\/p>\n

Of course you can always make your own gifts, there are, handmade, make your own book of vouchers for babysitting, gardening or dishwashing – let your imagination run wild.<\/p>\n

Follow @lothianloop<\/a> and share your ethical shopping tips.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What exactly is “ethical consumerism”? At it’s simplest, it’s shopping with a conscience.\u00a0 In reality […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t