Vote With Your Dollars

“Every time you spend money, you’re casting a vote for the type of world you want.”

Have you ever heard of this saying? It’s one that I replay over and over again in my head. Unlike political elections, voting with your dollars happens every single day with our pocketbooks. Voting with our dollars is a concept we should all be open to exploring. AND ITS NOT A ONE SIZE FITS ALL AND AN ALL OR NOTHING TYPE OF SITUATION.

Consumers (us) have a lot of say in what gets made and purchased and we don’t even realize it. Companies constantly audit the market and themselves and decided to supply what we ask for. If you see a trend start about Kale for example, you’ll then see companies marketing kale more frequently to peak our interest in buying what they sell.

I’ve noticed that sustainability has been made a major focus lately and I am here for it. There has been a massive increase for sustainable products in the last few years and with as much media attention as it’s getting, expect to see it blasted everywhere sooner than later. So why not lead the change for something like this, that creates a positive impact in your life, the lives of others and the plant?

Unfortunately, we the people don’t know what power we hold and there is a major disconnect. Most people don’t see their power as individuals and feel like their voices do not matter, but they do! We like to blame companies for the problems we see in the world instead of holding ourselves to a higher standard and stepping into our responsibility as consumers. I’m not saying that companies are blameless but we play the larger part in this game.

Consumers consume first and then the businesses act. it will never be the other way around, a business doesn’t demand their market to do anything unless they’ve heard about it from their customer base.

So, what’s the solution? VOTE WITH YOUR DOLLARS.

With your every day decisions, you can dictate what type of world you want to live in. Your voice matters. Your wants matter. I’m not saying that it will one day just make a perfect world appear out of no where but small changes make a big impact.

When shopping, think about the purchases you’re making and buy from ethical brands. Look for different brands that give back to causes, step up to the plate with sourcing, have mission statements geared towards sustainability and think about what in this world you want changed.

Make a commitment to yourself to challenge the purchases you’re making before you make them. The next time you have some time, start researching a few brands you regularly purchase from and decide for yourself if you support what they stand for. There aren’t many companies that I am 100% behind so I try to keep the 80/20 rule at bay to help make the process easier for me. Remember, something is better than nothing… ALWAYS!

Are you going to take the challenge and vote with your dollars?