Last month, a package from one of my favorite clothing companies arrived at my doorstep. With glee (and maybe an embarrassingly giddy dance) I tore open the large plastic bag and ripped apart several more to get to my new
Last month, a package from one of my favorite clothing companies arrived at my doorstep.
With glee (and maybe an embarrassingly giddy dance) I tore open the large plastic bag and ripped apart several more to get to my new attire.
But what I emotionally discovered along the way was not as satisfying as I had hoped.
First off, I’ve cheated on each and every small, local business on island struggling to make ends meet. By ordering something online, I’ve released my money into the ether, supporting another state’s economy while kama‘aina remain unemployed and school days continue to be furloughed.
OK, maybe it wasn’t that much money. But, still, it adds up.
To make matters worse, the products were cheaply made, the seams were already coming undone and the tags said the items were manufactured somewhere other than America.
But what my conscious is really kicking me for is that I even considered ordering something which came double wrapped in plastic and took I don’t know how many barrels of oil and carbon-dioxide emissions to travel all the way to our wee little island.
Needless to say, the very next day I’m filling out a return slip to send the items I technically never needed in the first place, back to the corporation.
Hundreds of miles and much more carbon-dioxide and packaging waste later, I’m re-thinking my wasteful economic and environmental patterns.
Enough is enough.
I no longer want to be mesmerized by online clothing or hypnotized by those sleek, modern bar stools which are the perfect shade of orange to match my living-room decor.
Instead, I’m going to make a commitment to Kaua’i.
Today marks the beginning of my year-long pledge in attempting to curb my shopping appetite and consciously make more-sustainable choices when I purchase food or supplies. I will do everything to avoid buying items from corporations not supportive of our local economy and products which generate excessive waste.
I am making a commitment to all the small-business owners on island who are having such a hard time surviving as it is and will do my best not to allow national companies to entice me with sales and lure me into their stores with seemingly-better deals. Because if I continue to patronize them rather than our mom-and-pop shops, the local economy will slowly fade away to an entirely-unsustainable level — which some may say is already a reality.
And, most importantly, I will prevent hurting the island with my mindless spending habits, contributing to the waste I’m accumulating on its breathtaking landscape and the carbon dioxide I’m spitting out into the beautiful blue sky.
Even if it is less convenient, requires more leg work and extra cost to find something on-island, it is a challenge I’m finally motivated to take. Rather than simply talking the talk, I’m going to walk the walk.
• Coco Zickos is the business and environmental writer. Her column “Living Simply” will appear once a month.
