WELCOME TO SHOP – by 1 Million Women Campaign

SHOP – is the next focus of the 1MW SAVE Program, so let’s get on with it…

SHOP is all about…

How we shop
Where we shop
What we buy
Whether we buy at all

All this has a huge bearing on how we can save energy, cut waste and pollution, and save money as well. Women do the lioness’ share of household purchasing and how we allocate dollars is a powerful influence in the market place. One of Australia’s leading national newspapers recently reported:

‘Australian women are estimated to be responsible for spending 90¢ in the household dollar, make 70-90% of domestic financial decisions and they also run more than 35% of small to medium businesses.’ – Catherine Fox in the Australian Financial Review, Ignore the female consumer at your peril – July 26th, 2012

As a rough rule of thumb, every $1 we spend on physical items like food and fashion comes with 1kg of greenhouse gas pollution embedded in the production chain – so if you save $1000 on buying ‘stuff’’, you can cut 1 tonne of pollution.

The SHOP element of 1 Million Women SAVE is a great opportunity to look back at our earlier elements – FOOD, DRIVE, POWER AND WEAR – and lock-in our ability to make a difference with our shopping decisions.

FOOD – buy fresh and local, know your eco-labels and pay close attention to best before and use-by dates to avoid waste
DRIVE – smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles, bicycles, good walking shoes and public transport are all great options
POWER – cut your bills by reducing electricity waste and know your energy stars and water stars to buy the most efficient appliances
WEAR – swap instead of buying, or buy second-hand, recycled and up-cycled instead of new

From taking your own reusable carry bags to the supermarket, through to incorporating environmental factors into the biggest purchasing decisions in our lives such as motor vehicles and real estate, SHOP is all about a cultural shift towards conscious consumption.

Think and research before you buy, and never stop asking the question: Do I really need this? A one-week cooling off period before committing to any large purchases is always a great idea.