And I find myself doing that more and more frequently.  I buy fair trade organic coffee from Cartel Coffee Lab here in downtown Tempe because Jason knows the coffee farmers in Guatamala who grow for him and he helps support their community.  The fact that it’s the best coffee in Arizona is a definite plus!  (Denis, the Frenchman in my life,  says it’s the only coffee in the WORLD he doesn’t need to add sugar to and it’s strong enough for his taste…he calls other commercial coffee ‘cat piss’.)

I was in Whole Foods Market looking for body lotion  and came across ‘Everyday Shea Moisturizing Body Lotion’, unscented (Yes!), handcrafted with fair trade, unrefined shea butter (Yes!) paraben free, fragrance free, no animal testing (Yes!).  And on the back of the bottle, their mission.  Read it (www.EveryDayShea.com).  I bought it and I love it.  Every time I slather it on after a shower, I feel better about our rapidly changing world.

When we come out of the current economic funk, I believe that it’s going to be a new economy, a more sustainable economy where we purchase according to our values and with respect for the planet and in support of those who are doing good by doing good.  We can do the right thing, we can look a little deeper and read the mission and make our choices accordingly.  

Peace.

Diann