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About The Star Graphics Above:
You can find more details about these stars, plus great compassionate shopping links, over at our other website: Peace Couple.
Excerpt from the Peace Couple post are below:
These stars were designed by Peace Couple in order to help our readers move towards more compassionate shopping. They are designed in the shape of star mandalas, to help you reflect on your current shopping habits, and how you might gradually move to more and more compassionate choices.
The first one is The Compassionate Shopping “Essentials” Star Mandala. This star is designed to help you map out areas of your life you shop for, and to raise your awareness of the power you have as a consumer in those areas.
The second on is The Compassionate Shopping “Action” Star Mandala. How can you get that item in the most sustainable and compassionate way?
Step One:
Compassionate Shopping
Essentials Star Mandala
The Essentials Star Mandala will help you visualize the various areas of your life that you shop for. It is our hope that you will use this chart to organize a gradual shift towards shopping more compassionately.
Consider taking a week or a month to focus on just one area of your shopping. Alternately, you could try to make at least one compassionate purchase in each category every week.
The Six Areas of Shopping Essentials/Shopping Needs:
1. Spirit
2. Food
3. Household Needs
4. Community Related Needs
5. Clothing
6. Finance
After you have focused on which kinds of products to seek out, you can apply the next mandala to your search…
Step Two:
Compassionate Shopping
Action Star Mandala
The Action Star Mandala will help you become more aware of the various ways that your shopping habits impact the world around you.
The Six Areas of Shopping Action:
1. Least Impact Zone. Don’t even shop! Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Do-It-Yourself. Grow-It-Yourself. Handmade.
2. Shop Local. Where is this item or this food coming from? Can I purchase it from someone in my neighborhood, or from a local farmer?
3. Shop Fair Trade or Union. Was this item made with respect for workers rights and for human life?
4. Think Small — Small Business, Cooperatives, etc. Was this item produced through fair business practices?
5. Compassion for animals. Was this item made with respect for the life of animals? Examples of how to help: Buy cruelty free health and beauty products. Consider a more plant based diet or becoming vegetarian or vegan.
6. Organic. Is this item made with as few chemicals as possible, so that it is better for you, the people who must make it, and the environment?
Please go to Peace Couple – here – for the full story, links, and to add your comments to the discussion.
Filed under: activism, buy local, Ecology, Environment, Food, green, health, Labor, News, Peace, progressive politics, social & economic justice, sustainability, sustainable, vegetarian Tagged: | animal rights, compassionate shopping, consumer empowerment, consumer guides, consumer power, cruelty free, Ecology, Environment, ethical shopping, fair trade, gift shopping, gifts, home decor, Mandala, natural products, online shopping, organic shopping, shopping, shopping advice, shopping guides, shopping tips, social change, sustainability, sustainable, Tote Bags, union made, vegan, vegetarian