This Holiday Season, Vote With Your Dollars. Are You voting for THIS?

Vote with your dollars. Are you voting for choking smog in China? (left:china.org.cn, right: AP/Guardian)

Reports of air pollution in China are increasing every year. Thanks to the massive amount of coal burning factories, Chinese citizens are unable to escape life-threatening air pollution as they go about their daily lives. According to a March 2014 article in The Guardian, the pollution crisis in China is more widespread than previously thought, putting millions of people in the path of air pollution that is above emergency levels for a third of the year, with some urban areas reporting poor air quality for twelve months on end. The article reported that Li Keqiang, the Chinese premier " 'declared war' on pollution, saying it was 'nature's red-light warning against the model of inefficient and blind development'. "

Think of how many products are made in China and sold here in the US. Chances are, half of your belongings were made of synthetic materials in a smog-producing Chinese factory. 

The next time we drive out and buy a gift for a friend or for ourselves it is critical to consider where and how it was made. If we continue on the same path of careless consumerism, the consequences will be detrimental. Every dollar we spend casts a vote for the kind of world we live in. Many will say that consumers are not responsible for “blind development” in China, but we cannot deny that in a global economy, all of our purchases have an impact. The key is to make that impact as positive as possible. 

At Terressentials we choose to make our own hand-crafted, chemical free, certified organic skin and body products and we carry artisan-made,fair trade goods from all over the world. Every purchase from our store is a vote for healthy bodies, sustainable income for small communities and fresh,clean air. Join us and help us save our planet and the people that live on it by making healthy everyday choices. Make this holiday an organic, hand-made, fair trade holiday and remember to vote with your dollars for the kind of world you want to live in.

To learn more, check out the article, "Nine Chinese cities suffered more days of severe smog than Beijing".