Low Carbon Consumerism: A New Ethical Choice
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12.12.06
What if every package of crisps (Britspeak for potato chips) had a label with its embedded carbon posted? "What if the label also told you how much carbon dioxide had been emitted in its manufacture? What if it informed you just what part in causing global warming had been played by the process of putting this snack in your hand? And furthermore, what if a comparison of labels showed you that X Crisps were responsible for fewer emissions of CO2 than Y Crisps? Would it not affect your buying decision - and would not X Crisps get your vote?" Michael McCarthy thinks it is a trend. We have seen the start of it over here with Timberland and proposed labels for cars. . "When it is calculated more widely, the embedded carbon in a retail product may become as big a turn-off as artificial sweeteners. High carbon content may get the same thumbs-down from careful consumers as high salt." Unfortunately North America is a lot bigger than the UK and a label can't take into account the distance travelled to the store. A label can't tell me to buy locally made Miss Vickie's instead of Cape Cod chips; probably the most important choice with respect to X chips or Y chips is where they came from. ::Independent
This is the start of what I think will lead consumers to responsible purchasing - mostly out of guilt, likely. This should be beyond just CO2 emissions, however, and include fair trade status, working conditions of factories, source material information, and waste disposal information. It seems like a lot of information, but I think that seeing the actual effects of production will force less conscious consumers to begin making more ethical decisions.
If I'm buying chips I don't care about CO2 content or produced. What if the organic chips I want produced more CO2 to get to my store? Do I buy the less CO2 non organic chips? How would they calculate the trip to the store since they don't know where that particular bag is going? And what difference does it make since the bag and chips are already produced and already contributed CO2. Me not buying that bag of chips will not put the CO2 back. I suppose you could argue market economics, yet that may kill may organic foods that travel far.
Jilted,
I think they discussed how that travel wouldn't be able to be tallied.
See if you don't buy something it won't need to be restocked. If this is to a great enough extent the seller won't buy more, because the product would be lossing the seller money (this can be for any product. This is the basics behind purchasing power.)
I hope that Organic everything will be able to be bought locally.