All Consuming

Jenny Pratt - Friday, August 05, 2011

If we have any real power as individuals, it's as consumers. Every time we shop we make choices that have an impact on the environment and send important and powerful signals to manufacturers and retailers.

Not long ago, it was only so-called latter day ‘hippies' or ‘new agers' who rode bicycles to the supermarket, shopped with a basket and whisked omelettes with free range eggs. But increasingly we are all making the connection between what we buy and discard, and the planets plethora of environmental problems and devastation.

An Australian company who is dedicated to making the world a better place is The Ethical Consumer Group, a community based, not-for-profit network set up to help facilitate more sustainable purchasing practices for the everyday consumer.

Specific to Australia, their Ethical Consumer Guide has come out of a shared concern that many people although eager to make changes in their buying habits for the better, do not have access to information to make informed choices. Their website and accompanying guides provide information on local and international companies and brands, allowing an evaluation of the social and environmental impact of companies on the earth and our society.

In their latest e-newsletter to come across our inbox, they bring to our attention the dubious practises of Asia Pacific Resources International Ltd, better known as APRIL, and producers of office paper sold by some of Australia’s largest retailers such as Fuji Xerox and Officeworks. The company has embarked on a massive land clearing project in Sumatra, Indonesia, removing natural stands of timber and replanting fast-growing acacia trees. ABCs Foreign Correspondent explored beyond what APRIL proffers as a model development, to investigate claims of corruption in a nearby area where logging companies appear to have bribed their way into operation.  Environmentalists and many villagers worry about the dramatic changes reshaping the land and also about the plight of residents who’ve been there a lot longer than most - like the Sumatran tiger. Another article states that the habitat of Sumatran tigers is being sold in IGA supermarkets across Australia as toilet paper. IGA buys its toilet paper from Indonesia's most notorious rainforest destroyer, Asia Pulp and Paper (APP). To view the complete e-newsletter go to www.ethical.org.au/newsletters/aug2011.htm

The Ethical Consumer Group says its wider goal is to see the current culture of reaction consumerism change to be conscious and deliberate, based upon care for nature and people, recognising our connection and responsibility. This encapsulates a desire to see social change on an individual, corporate and cultural level.

Credits: Earth Quest, Channel 9 & Hutchinson Australia and www.ethical.org.au