Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

By Rich Bailey

While the focus of this issue is primarily on sweatshops, I would like to comment on a related matter that is slightly closer to home: using your dollars to support and sustain our local community and economy.

You know who you are, the people I’m talking to here. You are aware of the issues, probably donate money to a couple of organizations. Heck, you may even get out of the house and go to the Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning to pick up some organic produce. And on the way home, you stop by Common Ground food store to pick up a few items, perhaps some organic, Equal Exchange coffee.

However, where do you do the majority of your shopping (and be honest with your answer)? Do you go to Wal-Mart because it’s the cheapest place to buy things you need, like toilet paper and dish soap? Do you go to Eagle or Jewel supermarkets because paying $1.59 for a can of beans versus 79 cents really gets your shorts in a twist?

Let’s be really honest about what I am talking about: people who have a pretty good grasp of reality about the cost of consumerism and the Sprawl-Marting of America, who are still going to chain stores and giving their money to “the man,” all to save a few bucks.

I thought long and hard about writing this article, about what I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it. When I talk about these issues with most people, especially people I don’t know, I am very careful not to be confrontational. This is because most people are blissfully unaware of what’s going on around them, and they have a tendency to get confused and defensive when you try to have a real dialogue with them.

However, this article is not written for them. This article is written for you, people who should know better. This is for the people who realize that there are unseen costs in price rollbacks. This is for the people who say that they care and want to make a difference. How can you continue to rationalize selling out your community and local economy?

Every dollar you give to a corporate chain leaves our community. What do we get in return? Minimum wage jobs, more traffic, uniform styles and choices so we can all look, eat, talk, and smell the same. Soon we’ll all think the same, and it will be even easier for the powers-that-be to sell us back what they stole. And guess what? Another local business closes it doors, and we lose another little part of what makes us special.

In an ideal world, when you give your dollar to a local store, it would then be used to buy supplies from a local business. That dollar goes to an employee’s salary and on to a local restaurant, multiplying in strength every time it comes around. And what do we get in return? If you are as aware as you claim to be, I think the answer is obvious.

I know it hurts. I know it’s unfair to have to pay more to live with social responsibility. My wife and I have struggled with these issues for quite some time, yet have recently made the commitment to shop as much as possible at local businesses. Sure, we can’t get everything that we need at local places, and I know that Jewel is one of the only places you can get organic vegetables in winter. We’ve ended up buying a lot less, and we are doing the best we can in an imperfect world.

There are so many voices, yelling out in protest or support, that it’s almost impossible to change things. The only thing that seems to get heard is the sound of money. It’s time to start backing up what you say with the power of your wallet. In today’s world, money talks and bullshit walks.

It is time to stop passing on the hidden costs of consumerism, and start paying the actual price of being a socially responsible member of our community.