Making Conscious Shopping Easier

By Isabel Cabrera

The fashion industry as we know it produces over 10% of all humanity's carbon emissions, pollutes the oceans with micro-plastics, and stands as the second-largest consumer of the world's water supply. As society takes a turn to more conscious efforts, thousands of sustainable goods/ sustainable fashion companies have developed. 

Unfortunately, sustainable production can be costly. Sustainable business models like circular economies can take decades of work and millions of dollars to implement or develop. Additionally, science and technology that is necessary for effective material recycling is still in development and is expensive for companies to utilize. Such factors, along with the price of quality organic material and product design, can make sustainable fashion unaffordable for many consumers. In addition, the act of greenwashing, a deceitful marketing spin that brands use to mislead consumers, allows companies to avoid minimizing their environmental impact. Through greenwashing, a company or organization can advertise a false concern for the environment meanwhile rejecting implementation of sustainable business practices. Truly environmentally-conscious shoppers may fall for the tricks of greedy companies. High cost and unreliable marketing are just two of many setbacks conscious consumers may face as they search for brands that fit their budget and a high standard of sustainability.

Consumers facing difficulty shopping consciously can turn to the Green Consumer Project, a free online resource that helps consumers easily locate brands to their liking within their price point. Founded by two high school students from New Jersey, Shiv Goel and Jack Osmond, The Green Consumer Project is a certified nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting ethical brands and making conscious shopping easier for consumers. Their website features businesses that are classified into three categories— Sustainable, Environmentally-friendly, and Vegan. Additionally, the featured businesses are sorted by price point and product type. The criteria for each category is listed on the GCP website.

The Green Consumer Project is your free shortcut to living more sustainably! Visit their website today to start shopping consciously. Be sure to follow their Instagram and subscribe to the organization’s newsletter to receive brand spotlights, informational posts, and even find coupons to different brands.