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How can we become more ’climate-smart’ as consumers?
What guidelines are there?

It can be said generally that one should ask pointed environmental questions when shopping and demand answers. Willingness may vary a great deal among producers of goods as concerns use of environmentally-friendly materials and making recycling possible.

Compare energy consumption of goods that you buy. Similar products may vary a great deal. A plasma TV may for example consume as much energy as a large LCD. You can also be more observant of existing environmental labeling in order to make wiser choices. Labels reflect the entire life cycle of the product and contribute to increased demand for environmentally-friendly products.

Another way to contribute to saving the environment is to use less of everything. If we all learned to follow dosage recommendations it would help. Use only as much cleaning fluid as is designated in the package instructions. Using more will serve no purpose. If we all just learned to use less then less would also go to waste and less would contribute to problems of disposal.

Finally, it is imperative that you realize that you cannot ‘shop away’ the problem of greenhouse gas emissions. The next step is simply to shop less. Stop buying new clothes, even if they are made of eco-cotton, don’t buy a new car even if it is an environmentally friendly model. Remember that each product you buy already has a certain level of CO2 ‘built in’ so to speak, that is to say, originating and emitted in the production process.