Sustainable Consumerism

What is “sustainable consumerism”? Are globalization and capitalism positive or negative drivers in this phenomenon? What is greenwashing? Would you be willing to pay a premium for foods labeled “organic”, “local”, or “fair-trade”? Do you prefer to frequent mom and pop stores in downtown Ft. Myers or patronize chain stores at the Gulf Coast Town Center? What are the ramifications of your behaviors either way? Think holistically
 
The definition of sustainable consumer proposed by the 1994 Oslo Symposium on Sustainable Consumption defines it as "the use of services and related products which respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of life while minimizing the use of natural resources and toxic materials as well as emissions of waste and pollutants over the life cycle of the service or product so as not to jeopardize the needs of future generations." Wikipedia 
 I do think that globalization and capitalism are negative drivers for sustainable consumerism.  The products have to be transported farther and more packaging is used for more stores.  Also the disruption of the land and the energy costs.  



The term is generally used when significantly more money or time has been spent advertising being green, rather than spending resources on environmentally sound practices. This is often portrayed by changing the name or label of a product to evoke the natural environment for example, putting an image of a forest on a bottle containing harmful chemicals. Environmentalists often use greenwashing to describe the actions of energy companies, which are traditionally the largest polluters.Wikipedia

 

^{I will not pay more for all this fair trade, local, food.  I know the farming industry pretty well and most of it is just a scam to get more of your money from these larger corporations.  I frequently shop at the Gulf Coast Town Center.  The mom and pop shops seems to have gone by the wayside due to stiff competion.  There is just no way they can compete with the prices and selection.}