How Shopping Will Change the World
Editor’s Note: This is a continuation of our core conversation, “Extraordinary Women Change the World.” Yesterday, Ericka Hines shared with us how she wrestles with the demons that want to be miserly in supporting others' empowerment. Today, the ladies of {r}evolution apparel discuss how we can vote for empowerment every single day.
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As recovering shopaholics, we often find ourselves embarrassed by the things we used to shovel into our closets, bathroom drawers, and desks. Cosmetics. Lotions. Perfumes. Jewelry. Home decor. And the clothes -- my goodness, the never-ending walk-in closet of clothes. In 2010, after spending a few post-college years traveling the world, we began to tire of all of the stuff. We joined forces and decided to start a business based on minimalism, as it relates to environmental issues. Now, we spend all of our time designing versatile and sustainable clothing -- something we never prepared for, but that just feels right. It took a whole lot of Google searches to get ourselves where we are today, but in the process, we inadvertently discovered something amazing: the power of a single woman to change the trajectory of consumerism. Yep, that’s right. A quest for a personal change in lifestyle led us to realize the power that women hold -- to change entire industries, manufacturing processes, and environmental standards -- as major consumers in our economy. Women are primary caregivers in the majority of homes in America, and the numbers are probably similar, if not higher, in the rest of the world. Here in the States, women make 85 percent of consumer purchases. Women are typically tasked with making shopping decisions for their families, and therein lies a great power that we didn’t understand, or appreciate, until we started our journey. Each time we purchase something, we vote. We say, “I believe in your product. I approve of how it was made. I want you to make more of it so I can continue purchasing.” Everything purchased, from the family toothpaste to the family car, counts as a vote. And a majority of the time, the wives and mothers are the voters. SlaveryFootprint.org notes that every person in America “employs” an average of 55 slaves, through their purchases of everyday household items. On the other side of the planet, forced labor and unreasonably low wages are paid to the people who make our stuff. Products can be manufactured cheaply in the developing world, where environmental laws are lax and human rights issues are aplenty. We tend to think that huge foundations, NGO’s and nonprofits will be the ones to “change things.” As we’ve learned, that’s just not true. Women will change things. Corporations rule the world. But for the most part, women can either give those corporations more power, or cripple them. It’s our job to vote for the kind of world we want to live in. The craziest part of our whole journey is the realization that we are already amazingly powerful. We dish out that power, in little pieces, every time we buy more cosmetics or clothing or cars or even a tube of toothpaste. If we choose, we can buy products that empower other women, or provide fair-wage jobs, or protect farmers from having to use dangerous pesticides. We can help change the world every single day, with every single purchase. The beauty of a woman is that her power is deep, yet quiet. But when she chooses to use that power, her roar can be felt around the planet. Kristin Glenn and Shannon Whitehead are the founders of {r}evolution apparel, a sustainable clothing line for female travelers and minimalists. They are about to embark on a Sustainable Fashion Tour for the summer to spark conversations about fashion, consumption and the environment. You can keep up with them on their blog, or via Facebook.