Nipping corporate shopping in the bud hasn’t been easy. Exactly one month has passed since my year-long commitment to living more simply and maintaining a corporate-free status. And it wasn’t long after embarking on my self-righteous journey that I quickly
Nipping corporate shopping in the bud hasn’t been easy.
Exactly one month has passed since my year-long commitment to living more simply and maintaining a corporate-free status. And it wasn’t long after embarking on my self-righteous journey that I quickly realized how hard it is to completely ban these global businesses from my life. In fact, I fell off the wagon less than 24 hours into my venture.
A strong desire to keep my eyelids open at work called for a much-needed caffeine fix the morning immediately following my pledge.
I succumbed to purchasing my first cup of corporate joe at Starbucks (are there any local coffee joints in Lihu‘e?) and, to make matters worse, I neglected to bring my own mug.
One non-recyclable-plastic-lid-and-cup later, the guilt was evident, especially knowing they would be permanently laid to rest in our landfill. At least maybe next time in my fleeting moments of energy desperation I will remember to bring my own cup.
The second hitch in my corporate-free getup is that I work for one. One which consumes I don’t know how many trees in the forest every year and where my bi-monthly paycheck comes straight from Davenport, Iowa.
But in all honesty, where does one work anymore these days which isn’t somehow part of a larger corporate profiteer?
And while TGI may not be locally owned, I am proud to say we are “Kaua‘i Made.”
Maybe I’m not as hypocritical as I thought.
So while I ended up saving money last month by curtailing some (no, not all) of my online shopping habits, I did spend significantly more purchasing food from local establishments as opposed to the big-box stores we have come to adore here on island.
Roughly five items and $60 later, I had little to show after a recent trip to a health food store on island. And I even shelled out a pretty penny for organic spaghetti sauce at a local grocery store rather than buying three times as much for half the price at Costco.
In addition, something I chose to purchase at a local business would have cost 50 percent less on Amazon.com — notoriously known for depleting the Amazon with their packaging waste.
While I know it is ultimately wise to patronize local businesses, paying higher prices for the exact same product will dissuade even the most conscientious of shoppers.
So, a couple of slip-ups and hypocrisy aside, I wonder if my wallet will carry me through 11 more months of this.
