Better World Shopper

So I posted on facebook the other day that I found the greatest app of all time and I was totally addicted!

Check it out... Better World Shopper

I discovered it from one of my favorite blogs, Heather Hendrick and her family are missionaries in Haiti. She's currently doing posts on how they came to the decision to move to Haiti and how we can help the poor, whether that means from home or moving somewhere else to serve Him. You guys should check it out if you haven't.

Anyways back to the app. And there is also a book for those of you who don't have an apple device!

I've expressed before on this blog how important it is to me to spend my money wisely and to support companies who make a difference in a good way not a bad way. My wedding anniversary marks exactly one year since I've bought any clothing from a mall (disclosure: I had to buy new work pants and that's not possible to find in a thrift store but I seriously tried.) I've only bought clothing second hand, or from non-profits. I guess I found this app at the perfect timing because now that I've finished the end of my one year commitment I don't want to forget why I made this commitment in the first place. It is so important to me to spend my money in a way that helps others. I personally am not okay with the ways that some companies treat their staff in third world countries. One can argue that those people or in some cases children need the money regardless of how bad their working conditions are. But I know there are still going to be thousands of people buying these products if I stop. I want my money to affect people positively. There is a lot of great organizations that I love that empower women in third world countries and pay them extremely fair wages as well as teach them savings and life skills. These women have dreams and can raise their families on their own. I love that buying these products makes me feel good, and makes me feel like I'm impacting the lives of those less fortunate than me.

So this app is pretty great. It rates companies on five different factors.
1. Human Rights (sweatshops, child labor etc.)
2. The Environment (recycling, renewable energy etc.)
3. Animal Protection (animal testing, factory farming etc.)
4. Community Involvement (volunteer efforts, nonprofit alliances etc.)
5. Social Justice (fair wages, fatalities etc.)

I started this journey hoping that the clothing I could buy would make a difference and support things that were important to me. Now I can try to buy almost everything in a reasonable way. Like this app has everything, from airlines to gas to granola bars to cleaning supplies to gum. Companies are rated on a scale of A to F.

One of the most interesting things that I discovered is that a lot of the companies that advertise the things they are doing in third world countries, didn't actually do that good. And some companies that have come under a really bad rap for sweatshops etc. actually had way higher grades than I thought they would. I guess that just reminds me that advertising is that, advertising and tries to convince us to buy the product no matter what that means.

I'm really excited that I feel I can make informed decisions about what cleaning supplies I buy and also how I grocery shop. For some people this doesn't matter and I understand that. But for me it is really important and I will switch what I usually buy if it means the new product will make a better impact on the world. Check it out and make a decision for yourself and your life. Whatever that means. For me its drastic but maybe for you its baby steps and that's okay. We have a lot of opportunities to make an impact in this world and how we spend our money is one of the largest ways we can make an impact!