How to Vote With Your Dollar

Just like our meals allow us several opportunities a day to better our impact, so does our money!

Where we put our money is the most direct way to let businesses know what we want as a consumer. Whether it be choosing different products from that business, or by choosing a different business all together. Choosing to fund or not fund a certain industry also has a major impact.

Any good business would be wise to respond to their ultimate boss, the consumer. That’s you!

Choosing eco friendly products

It has been a beautiful thing to see companies springing up to provide a more sustainable solution to traditionally harmful and wasteful products. 

We at LastObject are proud to be one of those companies!

By choosing more eco friendly options like reusable q-tips, reusable cotton rounds, and all the other amazing products out there, we are not only reducing our footprint but are also sending a message. A message that says this is what people want and not the previous, more wasteful and harmful option.

For more ideas on products to switch to, check out our list of zero waste travel products. Of course, more eco friendly products extend far beyond just zero waste products too. 

Choosing to fund eco friendly businesses

Beyond just the products or services alone, we have a choice as to which businesses we give our money to. Because if two companies deliver a similar product at the same quality but we choose to support the more sustainable one, this makes a clear statement about our preferences.

There are a lot of parts to a company that the consumer can look at to determine if it meets our standards. Parts like:

• Materials for products
• Sourcing of materials
• Quality of products
• Waste management
• Fair wages
• Healthy working environments
• Efficient processes
• Efficient locations and buildings

And much more. 

Some things that can help the process along could be certifications and memberships such as:

• 1% for the planet
• B-Corp
• Climate Neutral
• Fair Trade Certified
• Certified Organic
• LEED Certified buildings

These are good ways to quickly gain trust in a business. 

As we’ve learned with trying to eat more organic food, just because a farm or business doesn’t have a certain certification doesn’t mean they aren’t using practices equal to if not better than the requirements in certification. 

Choosing fewer, higher quality, and more purposeful products

Buying fewer, higher quality products that work for us as individuals may be a bit unorthodox when we think of voting with our dollar.

But this sends the message that we as consumers are reducing our unsustainable consumption levels, and maybe product manufacturing and marketing will adjust accordingly.

This will also hopefully affect the quality and intentionality surrounding products, services, and ways of doing business in general. 

Minimizing starts by being more deliberate about what we have and what we bring into our lives. Does the product contribute to our experience, or is it mostly in the way? As intentionality overflows beyond just physical goods, we’ll soon realize just how much we as individuals and as a society benefit from such a life. 

Choose products that provide environmental solutions or eco friendlier options. Choose businesses that take environmental and ethical stewardship seriously. And choose to be more deliberate about what we bring into our lives, both in the amounts and in the quality of the good. 

While we may just be one consumer, at what amount of consumers do we finally say “this has an impact”? Since there isn’t really a defined number, don’t we all have the tiniest of impact which simply gets bigger the more people join in?

And ultimately, people join in when they see others, who are important to them, remaining motivated to make a difference while benefiting from the changes they are making.