The only Gandhi quote I know off hand is very trendy these days - but a good quote nonetheless: "Be the change you want to see in the world." I love this quote and its sentiment - and while it closely mirrors the Golden Rule, I feel it is more expansive in not only covering the way you treat other people, but the way you live within the whole world. Thoreau also touched me in Walden: "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined!" The later quote inspired my senior philosophy thesis and was a reading at our wedding in 2007. Clearly the idea of living with intention is central to the value system Morgan and I embrace and will expose Raymond to ~ it will be up to him to live how he sees fit.
Morgan and I fight against mainstream American consumer culture to make decisions that have the smallest carbon footprint possible in an effort to "be the change" in our environment. Ultimately we believe in living simply in local economies with less consumption. That is a very loaded series of goals, however, and I am faltering with the dreaded big box store.
Since moving to Raleigh I have rediscovered the convenience and value of Target. I have to admit, I REALLY look forward to getting to go to Target. It is one of my favorite air-conditioned outings. In the six years we lived in San Francisco I went to Target a total of 5 times and I remember them all vividly. There it was easier and cheaper considering the price of gas to shop at Cole Hardware or on Clement Street and not drive OUT of the city to go to Target. Here, Target is less than 2 miles from my house.
However, every time I come home from Target my dear husband gives me the slightest look of disapproval in my shopping choice. And maybe some back handed comments about me shopping there from time to time. One of the qualities I love about Morgan is that he always challenges others and himself to be more thoughtful in their actions by playing the devil's advocate - so I can't complain too much about his Target trash talk. But after a recent confrontation about it I am reflecting on my consumerism and the example I am setting for Raymond.
I have broken my choice to shop at Target down within "the change I want to see in the world" into two categories - first, the benefit of distribution of "green" products to the mainstream and second, the harm to local economy.
Target is a pretty damn good employer, corporate citizen and friend of the environment. And currently Target has the best price on 7th Generation household products in my area. So, when I need cleaning supplies, dish soap, laundry detergent I can buy the brand that is very "green" at Target and save 25% from the prices at Whole Foods, other local retailers and even more from ordering online. Target also sells a full collection of several other brands of "green" household products at a lower price than other local retailers. As such the mainstream consumer can walk into Target and be presented with easy, low cost green options. The benefit of getting these biodegradable, green - i.e. bleach, phosphate and other chemical free - products into widespread use is incredibly important to our environmental and personal health.
In business school I did a lot of research on effective ways to market green products and services, and to no surprise the most successful brands do not lead with their positive environmental impacts. Rather, to be embraced by the consumer something that is "green" needs to present a value proposition that saves money or is healthier - just being good for our world isn't enough to sell to the mainstream. It also needs to be EASY to buy and COST competitive. While the various brands have to earn credibility, distribution through Target is definitely easy and cost competitive, achieving half of the equation! I am 100% behind mainstream distribution that takes green products out of the niche.
(Note: I could also make Wal-Mart sound good as they have one of the most efficient distribution networks in the world, are covering their rooftops in solar and offer one of the nation's largest assortment of organic foods. However, as I know the first two points alone save then enough money to provide all their employees the most stellar benefits in the country, which they do not do, and their organic food selection is all factory farm organic that only became available after the FDA lowered organic standards a few years a go, and moreover they still top the world's top ten list for child labor violators. As such, I haven't shopped in a Wal-Mart in some time for anything other than emergency trips to their vision department to get contacts.)
Target is a national retailer and most definitely effects local shops. We've all heard the stores and seen the documentaries about general stores in middle America closing down due to big box operations. We know that the lower cost products are often made abroad (the dreaded made in China) and as a result not only are domestic retailers effected but so are domestic manufactures. It sucks.
If I could have the real change I want to see in the world we would step back into a world of local storefronts. And to really step out of the box I would like to see fewer options, and have the options offered to consumers have higher quality and less mass distribution of crap. But I am not sure we can really go all the way back there to the totally local marketplace in our global economy with Internet shopping. Consumers wants choice and value on demand, and I am certain that driving to a big store and finding what you want in person and taking in home has its own value in efficiency.
And I have to boast that Target and REI are pretty much the only non-local retailers where our family regularly shops. We do the best we can to support local EVERYTHING. And I think we are able to pay a premium to shop locally because I save our family money by buying household products, toothpaste, etc at Target.
Surely this also sets a positive example for Raymond? Surely shopping at Target does not make me the cause of faltering local economies? I believe I am still causing some positive change with the choices I make.
Or maybe I have just folded under the American culture for easy, cheap shopping like a house democrat selling out universal heath care for the next best reasonable option. There is always a judgement someone can make, even if you're making a good thoughtful decision.
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