Why We Need to Change Individually

​​Our society is a system that includes governments, corporations and people. Mass-scale environmental destruction occurs as a result of corporations producing products and lack of regulations (or punishments if the law is broken) from governments. It's easy to feel powerless if you aren't part of a business or the government. However, every individual has a role to play in creating a more environmentally harmonious world.

​

People want corporations to change since they are the ones 'responsible' for environmental damage. However, we are complicit when we buy their products. In reality, we ALL share responsibility to change. How do we send the message to corporations that we want them to change? We have to stop buying harmful products, start making our voices heard, and show our values in our actions so they get the message.

​

We underestimate the power we have. If a company has 50,000 customers, and a boycott starts with one customer, then two, five, ten, and works up into the hundreds and thousands, companies will notice. If people boycotting switch to eco-friendly companies instead, the market notices. 

​

Our strength is magnified when we collaborate and form groups to inform people about which companies to avoid based on environmental and ethical violations. ​Consumers have already used their power to push things in the right direction. A couple examples include the protests and boycott of Nike which got customers' and the company's attention (Source), Zara no longer selling fur (Source), and nonprofits pressuring corporations and succeeding (Source).

​

If people engage politically, make sure to vote (and to pressure their elected representatives on environmental issues), we also have more power than is currently unlocked.

​

Unfortunately our system has aspects that are broken at all levels--governments, corporations AND consumers.

We are all responsible to help do our part to push things in a better direction and to minimize the harm we have control over. We can do this by informing ourselves and others and changing our purchasing/consuming behaviour. We can share information on big (social media, protests, etc.) and small (in casual conversation) scales so more people are informed. And most importantly, we can role model making more ethical and caring choices in terms of lifestyle and what we buy.

​

In today's world, the consumer and politically active person have more power than we realize. 

​

If everyone believed their actions had zero impact... what kind of a world would we have?​​​​