Wednesday, November 27, 2013

This Week in Thoughtful Consumerism, Vol. 3

It’s that time of the week, dear readers!  And what better week to think about thoughtful consumerism than that of our American Thanksgiving and its insane sidekick, Black Friday?  Paul tells me that we’ll be heading out at 10 PM on Thursday to get in line for Black Friday.

(Or maybe not.  Maybe we’ll just be hanging out with friends, fat and happy after a Thanksgiving feast.)

This week’s set of links will be a mix of old and new.  I didn’t find a ton of new stuff to share here, but I have many old favorites that deserve to be mentioned in this series.  We’ll just dip into them as we go.  I also want to mention that none of this content has been sponsored.  I am open to sponsors (as you can see on my sidebar), and one of the companies below has sponsored this blog in the past, but my fondness for them goes way beyond a sponsorship.  Like many people who publish content on the internet, I’m feeling my way through the process.  I hope that’s okay with you.

Okay, enough yammering.  Onto the links!

* Over at the newly renamed Art of Simple, Tsh has published an Ethical Shopping Guide.  Be warned: it’s HUGE!  I’m hoping to publish a much smaller list myself—I figure we can use all the information about this topic that we can get.

* One on-line shop that isn’t on Tsh’s list is Five Bamboo, maker of excellent bamboo clothing.  I’ve written about them before, and they are still a favorite company of mine.  I think their ballerina dress would make an awesome fall/winter little black dress.  (I’ve been on the market for a cold-weather LBD for a long time.  But since I live in Texas, it’s too easy to ignore the cold-weather wishlist, until this week when it’s suddenly 40-something degrees and COLD!)   

* Do you support employee-owned companies?  I think it’s a pretty awesome model for “working for yourself” but together with others.  A large scale version of working for yourself!  One employee-owned company that always comes to mind for me is King Arthur Flour.  I buy their flours whenever I can.  Let the holiday baking commence! 

* Let’s keep the podcast love going from last week.  Angelo Coppola has been knocking it out of the park on his podcast, Latest in Paleo.  Now, I know it can sound shocking for a vegetarian to recommend a paleo-themed podcast, but Angelo’s show is about real food and basic human health.  I find that I have a lot in common with his perspective on life.  And quite frankly, nobody reports health and nutrition news with as much humor and panache as Angelo.  Recently, the American Heart Association changed its recommendations for who should be taking statin drugs.  On the last few episodes, Angelo has been taking the AHA to task for their negligence and blatant corporate sponsorship from companies like Coca-Cola, makers of heart-healthy high-sugar beverages.  (Wait, that’s not right…)  I enjoy Latest in Paleo so, so much—Angelo’s messages about marketing and consumerism will make you think.

To my American readers, happy Thanksgiving and as always, thank you for reading.

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