Taking Action to Help Consumers

     
    
 
   
Check out some of the other sites, especially the
Global Exchange action pack mentioned there.

Get this 3"X10" bumper sticker for your bumpers or windows to help advertise my site.    Send SASE & number of cars to Ed Bender Math Dept 0112 U.C.S.D. 9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla, CA 92093-0112 or meet with me: email ebender@ucsd.edu

Improve This Site

I would like to make this site as useful and accessible as possible.  Help would be appreciated.  Here are some things I've thought of:

• getting search engines to rate this site high;

• getting other sites to link to this one;
   

• information on other supermarkets (current information);

• information on printer/copier paper sources (current information);

• information on retail sources of FSC certified wood products (current information);

• information on educational materials (current information);
   

• links to good sources of information or action ideas (information links are throughout the site; current action links);

• successful action descriptions that provide method and motivation (there's some on this page);
   

• anything else useful you can think of.

You can contact me at ebender@ucsd.edu.  Please make your subject line clear so I don't accidentally treat it as junk.  For example, refer to the site name in the subject line.  Unless you want to be anonymous, tell me how I should acknowledge you (name, etc.).  Thanks in advance for any help you give.

Petitions

Many organizations have petitions you can sign.  Some are on their web page, some are sent by email if you join the organization.  Since these are frequently changing and my time and energy are limited, I've omitted listing petitions.  If you follow links on this page and look around the sites they take you to, you'll find some.

Seafood Watch Material

Seafood action can be taken in many of the categories listed above, so click on buttons of interest.  You should also look at the ideas on the Seafood Watch web page under "WHAT YOU CAN DO".  It provides ideas and is a source of free materials.  Some, such as the countertop displays are not available to individuals, but are free to businesses.  These displays hold wallet cards and come in three sizes. You can print out colored pictures of each.  The displays are heavy duty plastic similar to, but sturdier than, typical counter and table top displays.  If Seafood Watch has a partner in your area, you may want to contact it.

Person to Person

Talking may be enough to change some people's habits so that they buy Fair Trade certified products, provided you can tell them where to purchase them in your community.  Wood products are harder to find.  Since little MSC certified seafood is available, you can order the free Seafood Watch wallet cards for distribution.  They cover contaminants as well as overfishing.  Of course you can direct people to this site.

• Individual Level: Obviously you can talk to friends and people you strike up conversations with.  You can also order the engaging one-hour documentary film Buyer Be Fair on VHS or DVD for about $30 for home use.  More information on film.
   

• Talking to Groups: Give presentations to groups whose members may be interested; e.g., local conservation groups, gardening clubs, student organizations.  If you belong to Toastmasters or another organization where you are expected to talk, use this as a topic.  Here are some ideas about what you could do in a talk.

• Ask people if they are interested in the environment (not needed for some groups).  Then ask "How many of you would like to help by being more aware consumers?"

• Mention well-known certifiers/logos ("organic", "Energy Star") and point out that there are others.  (You can copy logos from my page.)  Fair Trade is common for coffee, others not so common.

• Depending on time and audience composition, introduce fish cards and/or discuss paper products (post-consumer waste and where to buy).

• Depending on the audience, you could ask people to partner with a neighbor and share how they can use the information in their life (about 1 minute each).  Can ask audience to share.  (Thank people when they share.)

• Again, depending on audience and time, you can point out lack of knowledge in this country.  (Fair Trade and the Forest Stewardship Council are well known in parts of Europe.)  You can ask them to brainstorm in groups of 3 for a couple of minutes on action they could take.  Can ask audience to share.

• With more time, you could show Buyer Be Fair.

Food Markets

You can approach markets on various levels from providing consumer information to carrying (more) certified products.  You can also distribute information yourself or even start a campaign. Generally, you will have to take action above the local store level since store managers have limited freedom.  Hence you may want to  approach locally owned and operated stores.  Also locally owned stores may be more inclined to be responsive since your area is their entire market, not just a small piece of it.

• Adopt-A-Supermarket Campaign: Is a program for adopting a market and pressuring it to carry more Fair Trade items. For information and sign-up see www.coopamerica.org/programs/fairtrade. Even if you don't want to join, download the campaign guide for ideas.

• Seafood Information: This is probably the easiest information for a market to provide since it can be done at the seafood counter by making available the free wallet cards from Seafood Watch. This could be done in rack with other materials or in one of Seafood Watch's free countertop displays. If the store will not distribute these cards, you can order some free from Seafood Watch and distribute them outside the market yourself.  Remember to approach fish markets, too.  See previous discussion of Seafood Watch material.
   

• Certification Information: Some stores may allow you to post information about what Fair Trade certification means. While they won't do this themselves, they may have bulletin boards for community use.
   

• Carrying products: The main products available are coffee and tea, but more are becoming available.

  • Many markets have some Fair Trade certified coffee and could expand this line, though it may involve switching a brand.  I've not looked into coffee brands to determine a good source of certified varieties

  • Fair Trade certified tea is less common, but could be carried.  Some stores carry Tazo teas, of which only some are organic and, as far as I know, none are Fair Trade certified. In contrast, many of the Choice Organic Teas (www.choiceorganicteas.com) are certified and the prices are comparable to Tazo.

  • Other Fair Trade certified products are unavailable except in some environmentally oriented markets.

  Restaurants

Prod restaurants where you're a regular customer -- 2/3 of the seafood goes to restaurants.

• Restaurants that promote sustainable cuisine can be found in various places, including,
  • Seafood Choices Alliance, which has the largest list I know of and also has a variety of other information,
  •  the Chefs Collaborative guide,
  • mostly in the vicinity of Monterey Bay, the aquarium's list. 
     
• You can order cards from Seafood Watch to leave at restaurants.

Lumber and Furniture

The documentary film Buyer Be Fair, reveals that most people shopping for lumber have no idea what FSC certification means.  Hence an education campaign is crucial.

Action at School and Work

FAIR TRADE  If you're at a campus or in a company that provides food for employees, get them to be more aware.  The administration may be willing to include requirements in vendor contracts for this.  The easiest is probably certified coffees since they are common.  Not selling fish labeled "avoid" by Seafood Watch would be good but will probably be harder.

HAZARDOUS WASTE  In California, if your campus does not have a convenient hazardous waste collection program (especially for resident students), get them to start one that at least collects dry cell batteries and electronics, excluding monitors.  (If students throw hazardous waste in the trash and were not informed by the administration, the campus will be in violation of the law for disposing of it improperly.)  This limitation avoids the problem of breakage and spillage and deals with most student hazardous waste.  Some companies may also be willing to provide some collection facilities for employees since companies need to dispose of their own hazardous waste.

PAPER  Persuade people responsible for purchasing to use high post-consumer-waste paper. Click for source information. For printers and copiers, this may mean testing paper to see that jamming is not a problem. (That can be a problem with some virgin paper, too.)

TEACHING  See my page on educational materials.

News Media

My experience in this area is limited. Here are some thoughts.

• Letters:  Obviously, you can write letters to newspapers.

• Articles:  The best way to get something more substantial is by having some local relevance. I wrote something for our local paper after Jimbo's markets started carrying Seafood Watch cards.  The paper's policy was that I could not mention specific products or specific stores to shop at. I'm working on an article with more information. You're free to use them as is or with modifications.

• TV spots:  Dutch media helped spread knowledge by airing "commercials" for free as discussed the the Buyer Be Fair film. It would be great if this were done in the U.S.

Other Action Sites