【Sister Emanuelle】

At this point,Sister Emanuelle it should be pretty clear that no form of holiday shopping is good for the world.

Sure, there are exceptions to the rule. I'm pretty confident that purchasing lemonade from your neighborhood child-led not-for-profit lemonade stand is safe, assuming those lemons were procured locally by unionized farm workers and those children are paid a living (5 dimes an hour) wage.

Other than that, the options are limited. That doesn't mean you can't shop -- but instead of following "the do no harm" method, you might need to follow the "do the least amount of harm" school of thought.

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It's hard not to indulge in a little bit of consumerism every now and again. I understand the objections -- I too have read the "My Year of No Shopping" in the New York Times. I went to Occupy Wall Street for an hour, once. I get that it's almost impossible for any product to be purely ethically made -- somewhere down the line, something very bad happened to make your navy chino pants possible.

It's just hard to give it up entirely when we don't have a lot of other emotional outlets. There's only so many soothing Boston Market mashed potatoes a person can eat. You can organize and protest all you want -- that's great for the world and for your soul. But sometimes the best form of self-care is buying a $50 witchy candle on your lunch break.

Sometimes the best form of self-care is buying a $50 witchy candle on your lunch break.

More and more, folks want to know where to spend their dollars in a way that feels good.

"A lot of young people are interested in this [ethical consumerism] right now," Julie Irwin, Professor of Business at University of Texas McCombs, said. "There's an interest in companies that care about child labor and sustainability especially among young people and older liberals like me."

Ethical consumerism goes in and out of vogue -- remember the anti-sweatshop movement of the early '00's, fellow Xennials? -- it appears it's having a moment yet again.

"In the United States right now we have two groups of people who are very mad at each other," Irwin said. "One thing that happens in this climate is that groups become more like themselves -- groups that are socially conscious become even more socially conscious. Sometimes it's a rebellion against people who aren't. And it might be OK to have these divisions, if we double down on what matters."

Irwin doesn't recommend trying to be a perfect shopper, but a better shopper. Reward companies that manufacture their clothes in the United States or own and monitor their own factories (and do it well). Support companies that care about sustainability. Buy local (i.e. not Amazon, if you can manage it).

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The best way to determine whether your shirt or watch or electronic was ethically-ish made is to go to sites like Ethical Consumer. There, you can easily research a company's labor and manufacturing practices and determine for yourself if it's worthy of your money. Ethical Consumer won't just tell you what not to buy, it'll give you alternative recommendations as well.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

You may not be able to stop a company from using unethically sourced thread, but you can put some pressure on them to make sustainability and good labor conditions marketable.

"What I try and do is support the startups that are fairly new and have as their goal to do things in an ethical way," Irwin said. "If they're not using sweatshops, if they're trying to be good about the materials they use -- these companies also tend to be good at packaging as well."

Irwin believes that by supporting the little guys, we can apply pressure on bigger retailers who often look to them for guidance.

"We underestimate the effect the little guys have on the big guys," Irwin says. "They can do it."

'Every dollar you spend is a vote for the sort of world you want.'

Caroline Heldman, Professor at Occidental College and author of Protest Politics in the Marketplace, agrees:

"Every dollar you spend is a vote for the sort of world you want. Consumers who want better employment practices, less environmental pollution, better representations of people of color in advertising, gender equity in the workplace, etc. can reward companies that engage in behaviors that reflect the world they want," Heldman told Mashable. "Thankfully there is technology to help conscious consumers find products and companies that align with their values. People can shop with DoneGood to find companies that are making a difference, such as reducing poverty and fighting climate change. People can join the Ethical Shopping Collective to get information about socially just companies and products." 

Some of the ethical (or ethical-ish, if you're being picky) brands are already fairly well known: Everlane, Veja, Patagonia, and others. Consumers might be paying a higher cost, but not always -- Irwin notes that there are plenty of sweatshop-produced brands that retail at incredibly high prices.

There are other more cost-effective strategies for folks who aren't emotionally dependent on shopping at Everlane like me: shop less. Or just buy secondhand. There's no need for consumers to have 15 poorly made white tee-shirts if they can have two or three quality ones that last for years.

"One of the most interesting things recently is that second-hand is becoming a lot more chic," Irwin adds. "There's Rent the Runway [among others] ... shopping for something that's not new ... we can take stigma away from that."

If you're dead set on fighting the consumerist craze this season, you can also choose to not shop at all.

"The average Americans racks up over $1000 in debt each holiday season; the average home has 300,000 items; the average family throws out 65 pounds of clothing a year; and the average American has twice as many materials items as we did 50 years ago. It's safe to say that the most ethical way to consume is to consume less or not at all," Heldman told Mashable.

There's no way to be a perfectly ethical consumer this season. Not shopping isn't a possibility for everyone. Whatever you do -- supporting ethical startups, buying less or purchasing second-hand --just make sure you do something.

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